Colourful Capers

The colourful comic book world of 1930s America lands in Windsor as Le Navet Bete brings Dick Tracy to the stage in their own style, writes Peter Anderson

Will Dick Tracy be able to save the day, get the girl and get to the bottom of who’s causing all the mayhem? Or perhaps the truth is closer than he thinks… With its theatre work rooted in the ridiculous, Le Navet Bete’s Dick Tracy is a physical comedy influenced by the world-famous detective incorporating fooling, original live music, plenty of audience interaction, lightning quick character changes, incredibly authentic accents spattered with mystery, malice and mischief.

I asked Al Dunn, one of the Exeter team, how he got into comedy, and Le Navet Bete? “I loved the slapstick side of comedy,” he says, “and can remember when I was 12 or 13 I really enjoyed watching programmes like Bottom with Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson. Then I met up with the other guys when we were at college. We worked out a show and took it to the Edinburgh Fringe. It went down well and ten years later we are still touring, in our 30s and married, so we don’t do as many foreign trips! But I am pleased to say our Dracula script has been published in Canada, America and Greece as well as other countries.”

So, I wonder, is he looking forward to performing in Windsor, and what can the audience look forward to? “I love the Theatre at Windsor it is really old and beautiful, as to what the audiences can look forward to, well… With Dick Tracy, we aim to recreate the colourful cartoon strips of 1930s America with loads of set pieces and great music. It is so much fun to connect with the audiences; they seem to love to watch something build and build only for it to come crashing down. I guess you could say slick but slapstick.”

This team promise you a show where the villains end up in handcuffs and the audience in stitches.