Actors and diners take part in 'Ello 'Ello: The Dinner Show at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Dubai.
Actors and diners take part in 'Ello 'Ello: The Dinner Show at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Dubai.

'Ello 'Ello serves up a sitcom for supper in Dubai



"Listen very carefully ... I will say this only once."

If these words, when spoken in a mock French accent, raise a smile, or even a wince, then you're obviously aware of the huge hit that was 'Allo 'Allo.

Conceived by renowned comic writer David Croft as a parody of Second World War dramas, the British television sitcom centred on a small town cafe and René Artois, its perpetually flustered French proprietor.

While the Nazi's brutal occupation of France might not seem an obvious source of humour, 'Allo 'Allo was a mainstay of the BBC's Saturday evening TV schedule throughout the 1980s, when millions tuned in to watch the farcical goings-on in René's eatery.

Despite being generally blasted by critics for its smutty, earthy humour and xenophobic portrayal of foreigners, the viewing public adored it, and it clocked up 85 episodes in its 10-year run. Meanwhile, catchphrases from the show - such as the aforementioned "listen carefully" and "good moaning" - became common parlance. Surprisingly, the show was equally loved overseas, with the BBC selling transmission rights in more than 40 countries.

Some might say its kitsch, slapstick-style, double entendre-based comedy has not aged well, but it retains a dedicated fan base even now. Evidence of this comes from the small but enthusiastic audience who've turned up at the Cucina Italian restaurant at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Dubai for an event based on the original show.

'Ello 'Ello: The Dinner Show - the change of vowel is required to avoid a costly lawsuit from the BBC - is similar to the Faulty Towers dining experience that played in Dubai last November. It has been brought to the Emirates by Dolphin Creative, the same event organisers behind the show based around the classic John Cleese sitcom, although 'Ello 'Ello is the work of Treason Productions, a different theatre company.

However, both share a common formula. Guests sit down for a three-course meal, while a cast of actors dress up as the sitcom's stars and go through a script loosely based on scenes from the programme.

So, we find the hapless René (or Renaux as he's been renamed) learning from the Gestapo that his establishment is to host a visit from Adolf Hitler, who wishes to experience the homely delights of a rustic Gallic eatery.

The French resistance hear of this and, in a wink to Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, coerce René to blow up his beloved cafe to kill the Führer.

Alongside our French onion soup, coq au vin and creme brûlée, we're treated to an ongoing farce with Renaux attempting to keep his trysts with the cafe's attractive waitresses secret, as well as German army officers forcing him to stash their hordes of stolen loot and the Gestapo continually threatening him with execution.

All the time, the audience is asked to partake in the silliness, whether it's to help assemble a secret radio or be invited on stage to join in.

As with the original, tonight's escapades draw in an international crowd consisting of Europeans, Indians, Americans, Emiratis and Filipinos.

The man behind all this mayhem is Mark Brailsford, who penned the script, is director of Treason Productions, and also takes on a number of roles in the performance.

Before setting up his own company, Brailsford was a jobbing actor who counts bit parts in Pink Floyd The Wall, as well as appearances in Casualty and Eastenders on his CV. Although the production company usually specialises in satirical comedies, when asked by a hotel in his hometown to create a sitcom-based dining show, the chance proved impossible to resist.

He explains: "The Thistle Hotel in Brighton had just hosted the Faulty Towers show and it was a huge success, so they approached us and wondered if we had any thoughts about doing something sitcom-based.

"Somebody had beaten me to Fawlty Towers, so I had a long think and I thought 'Allo 'Allo would be perfect ... I know it's unashamedly populist, but sometimes you can't argue with what people like."

Last summer, the show completed an eight-week run in Brighton, and, just like the original TV series, it attracted a cosmopolitan crowd.

Brailsford assesses why this is the case: "The thing is, it is quintessential British humour, but the British look pretty ridiculous [in the show] too. So everyone gets a pasting.

"But I think the main reason it did so well around the world is that it poked fun at the Nazis. By laughing at them, you take their power away, and you realise that they were actually pretty pathetic."

Brailsford was also amazed by how involved the audience became with the performance during its UK run. They had numerous guests turn up dressed as British RAF airmen or Nazi stormtroopers. However, during early performances, a loud sound effect produced the most extreme reaction.

Brailsford recalls: "The Brighton hotel we were in has a rather large atrium, and when this bomb explosion sound went off, it was rather large.

"It was such a realistic sound effect that some people hid under their tables. So we've had to tone that down a bit."

And such was the show's success, that one member of the original cast asked to get involved.

"I can't really say who it was, other than he lived in Brighton, and a message was passed to us that he was interested in joining us in Dubai. But we already had our team, who I know and trust, so we had to decline this offer."

With or without genuine cast members, the crowd at the Cucina seemed enthralled with the chance to relive some nostalgia.

Among these was Lalitha Thomas, 37, an Indian expatriate who has lived in Dubai all her life and attended the show with her husband Alex. She says the stage show evoked memories from a bygone era in the Emirates.

"When I was a child, there was only one English TV channel in Dubai and they screened 'Allo 'Allo. So this really brings back memories of my youth. I posted it on my Facebook wall that I would be coming to see this, and my friends from my childhood started to post all the catchphrases. For people of a certain age who grew up in Dubai, this really was part of our childhood."

With Fawlty Towers and 'Allo 'Allo proving lucrative amongst those wanting nostalgia trips, Brailsford believes there's scope for reinterpreting more classic TV programmes. "We're doing a proper play about [the comedian] Tony Hancock, so that might translate into a dinner show. We've also thought about maybe Blackadder. Downton Abbey was suggested the other day, so we might set that up, with a slightly different name obviously, but that whole Upstairs, Downstairs, posh country house class-struggle is really ripe for parody.

"Until then, we're going to keep 'Ello 'Ello going for as long as we can as it's been a huge hit for us."

Expect their catchphrases to be said a lot more than once.

'Ello 'Ello: The Dinner Show runs at 1pm and 7.30pm today and tomorrow at Courtyard by Marriott, Dubai Green Community. Tickets cost Dh395. Call 050 785 0149 for more information.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

SERIE A FIXTURES

Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)

Lecce v SPAL (6pm)

Bologna v Genoa (9pm)

Atlanta v Roma (11.45pm)

Sunday

Udinese v Hellas Verona (3.30pm)

Juventus v Brescia (6pm)

Sampdoria v Fiorentina (6pm)

Sassuolo v Parma (6pm)

Cagliari v Napoli (9pm)

Lazio v Inter Milan (11.45pm)

Monday

AC Milan v Torino (11.45pm)

 

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Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers