Terry Pratchett's Guards, Guards

Published on Monday 18 August 2003 01:00

High point: Corporal Carrot’s arrival in the big city

Low point: Not really a show for hardcore Pratchett fans

Snapshot: Terry Pratchett’s homily to hero fodder on stage

Terry Pratchett is a name familiar even to those who regard fantasy as a past-time for the terminally sad. His writing has a fan-base as loyal as any Star Trek convention and has spawned an industry of plays, of which there are two currently doing the rounds at this year’s festival. So, like an any adaptation there are always two audiences to please and while the gags will appeal to kids everywhere hardcore fans may feel disappointed with the result.

This production of “Guards, Guards” is a children’s morning television romp through Pratchett’s world, combining slapstick and bumper fun action in a joyously over-hammed performance that is a treat for all the family. But while the play concentrates on childhood frolics it neglects to deliver for that notoriously difficult second audience, the fans.

The literary in-jokes, genre subversions, knowing references and rhetorical bon mots for which Pratchett is regarded as a master are lost in the all excitement of people falling over and the generally energetic rumpus. Although it is difficult to transfer these qualities to the stage as they depend on the written word for their force rather than acting, the lack of attempt does leave a notable vacuum. So, although this show gets three stars for the family, it gets a second score of two in deference to the author’s fans.