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Llangollen Twenty Club are having an open read-through for their November play, Blackadder Goes Forth, tonight (Wednesday, April 23) at the Town Hall Council Chambers in Parade Street, starting at 7pm. What 3 Words - https://w3w.co/salt.thumbnail.trouble
One of the main aims of the read-through is to decide which four of the six episodes they will perform, although they say it’s certain that the final episode ‘Goodbyee’ will be amongst the four.
Anyone interested is asked to email: contact@twentyclub.co.uk
An audition for the play sometime in July will be announced in due course.
Refreshments will be provided at the read-through. Here's what happens in each episode:
Episode 1: Captain Cook
To escape the horrors of trench life, Captain Blackadder volunteers to become the army’s official war artist—hoping it will get him far from the front lines. Unfortunately, General Melchett insists the artist should be right at the heart of the action. Baldrick’s bizarre painting is mistakenly hailed as a masterpiece, and Blackadder’s plan falls apart. The episode sets the tone for the series: darkly comic, sharply satirical, and scathing about the futility and bureaucracy of war.
Episode 2: Corporal Punishment
Blackadder lands himself in serious trouble after shooting a messenger pigeon—unaware it belongs to General Melchett. Tried for murder, he faces court-martial, with Baldrick and George as his hopeless defence. The absurd trial mocks the blind justice of wartime protocol and the incompetence of those in charge. Blackadder is only saved when Melchett inadvertently incriminates himself, highlighting the arbitrary nature of military authority.
Episode 3: Major Star
With morale at rock bottom, Melchett orders a concert party to lift spirits. Blackadder spots an opportunity to escape the trenches by sending Baldrick and George to perform in Paris. But things go awry when George falls for Baldrick in drag, and Melchett does too. The episode satirises wartime distractions, gender stereotypes, and leadership delusion. Blackadder’s plan, once again, is undone by the buffoonery around him.
Episode 4: Private Plane
Believing life as a pilot will be safer and more glamorous, Blackadder joins the Royal Flying Corps—only to discover the skies are just as deadly. After being captured by the Red Baron, he and Baldrick are rescued in a farcical escape mission. The episode pokes fun at the romantic myths of wartime aviation, exposing it as yet another deadly theatre of war, ruled by incompetence and misplaced heroism.
Episode 5: General Hospital
When a spy is suspected of leaking battle plans, Blackadder is sent undercover to a military hospital. His investigation, driven more by self-interest than patriotism, leads to a surprising discovery: the affable George has been unwittingly leaking secrets. The episode skewers military intelligence, hospital life, and the idea of loyalty in war. Despite solving the mystery, Blackadder’s efforts—as always—yield no reward.
Episode 6: Goodbyeee
As orders come to go “over the top,” Blackadder, George, and Baldrick face the inevitability of death. The tone shifts as gallows humour gives way to poignant reflection. Blackadder’s last attempt to escape fails, and the episode ends with a haunting charge into No Man’s Land. Fading to a field of poppies, it remains one of the most moving scenes in British television—a final reminder of the human cost of war.
* Monies raised from the raffle at last month’s The Importance of Being Earnest performances by Twenty Club are being donated to three causes close to the hearts of Keith Hall and Dave Roberts, and their families. Keith and Dave, both dear friends of The Twenty Club passed away at the end of 2024.
The three good causes are:
North East Wales Search & Rescue
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