Guest Blog: Playwright Phil Porter on Nerves and Inspiration in Bringing THE LAVENDER HILL MOB to the Stage

I was thrilled when the offer came in to write a stage adaptation of The Lavender Hill Mob. I have always had great affection for the Ealing Comedies - the warm and witty films made at Ealing Studios in the decade or so after the Second World War - and The Lavender Hill Mob remains an absolute favourite.

It is a widely-recognised classic of British cinema, telling the story of a bank clerk who uses his reputation for dullness to pull off an audacious gold robbery.

With our first performance just last week and the script now 'locked', I find myself mulling over the privileges and potential pitfalls of adapting such a classic for the stage.

Perhaps I shouldn't admit to such negativity, but my first intinct was to consider the ways in which I might get it wrong. I could imagine a version that tinkered unneccesarily with the much-loved plot of the original - in trying to put my own stamp on the story I might find myself attempting to fix something that was never broken. And conversely, I could foresee a version that left its audience wondering why they traipsed to the theatre when they might just as well have stayed in and watched the film.

My attempted solution is to preserve the integrity of the story, but to tell it in a way that is entirely theatrical; we use every theatrical trick in the book to bring the film's many rich characters and locations to life, all the while staying in one place. We aim to transport our audience to postwar London and Paris while complying religiously (for those of a classical bent) with Aristotle's unities of action, time and place. To say any more would be to stray into spoiler territory, but hopefully our show will feel both respectful and inventive.

The film has a magnificent cast: Alec Guiness, Stanley Holloway, Sid James, even a young Audrey Hepburn. I resolved to double down on its ensemble nature and write something that felt truly collective, with every actor onstage throughout. I have always loved plays that tap into the camaraderie of theatre. The Lavender Hill Mob, with its central themes of friendship and honour among thieves, seemed suited to a stage version that was itself a celebration of comradeship and collaboration.

I was also struck by the film's abundant charm. Of course, it is packed with hilarious characters and scenes and comic set pieces, but its comedy never feels forced or cheap. The script is almost entirely devoid of gags or punchlines, investing in story above all else. I have attempted to replicate the film's wonderfully light comic touch by doing the same, writing a comedy of character, cause and consequence. In this way I hope we can achieve at least some of the lovable comic charisma of the original.

The other great lesson I learned from the original film was to leave space for others to be funny. Just as the screenplay trusts its director and stars to find laughter between the lines, I have attempted to deliver a script that embraces the physical and visual. As a playwright it is easy to get drawn into a trying to control every aspect of a production from your desk. But with Jeremy Sams (whose production of Noises Off destroyed me) as director, and the brilliant Miles Jupp and Justin Edwards in starring roles, I knew that would be a mistake. Watching the cast rehearse and find pathos and hilarity in unexpected places has been a joy.

Of course, until you put a piece of theatre in front of an audience you don't know what you've got, and when it's a comedy even more so. I will no doubt be a nervous wreck as I wait to see the response to our best laid plans.

The Lavender Hill Mob is at Cheltenham Everyman Theatre until 22 October, then touring

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