''Man Alive!'' is a

comedy play Comedy is a genre of dramatic performance having a light or humorous tone that depicts amusing incidents and in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity. For ancient Greeks and Romans, a comedy was a stage-play with a happy endin ...

by the British writer

John Dighton John Gervase DightonCollections"John Dighton"''British Film Institute''. Retrieved 30 August 2020. (8 December 1909 – 16 April 1989) was a British playwright and screenwriter. Dighton was born in London to Basil Lewis Dighton, of West Ken ...

. In a strange turnaround at a

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as ...

, a shop window

mannequin A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. Pr ...

comes to life and takes over the store while the unpopular manager is temporarily turned into a dummy. After premiering at the

Pleasure Gardens Theatre The Pleasure Gardens Theatre was a theatre in Folkestone in Kent. It was opened in 1886 in a building that had previously been constructed as an Exhibition Hall in 1851. It was later converted into a cinema before closing in 1964. In the interw ...

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

it transferred to the

Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in th ...

where it ran for 84 performances from 14 June to 25 August 1956. The cast included

Robertson Hare John Robertson Hare, OBE (17 December 1891 – 25 January 1979) was an English actor, who came to fame in the Aldwych farces. He is remembered by more recent audiences for his performances as the Archdeacon in the popular BBC sitcom, ''All Gas ...

Brian Reece Brian Reece (24 July 1913 – 12 April 1962) was an English actor. Biography Born in Wallasey, Cheshire, he starred as the eponymous policeman in the BBC radio series ''The Adventures of PC 49'' (1947–1953). His films include '' Orders Are ...

Wendy Craig Anne Gwendolyn "Wendy" Craig (born 20 June 1934) is an English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms ''Not in Front of the Children (TV series), Not in Front of the Children'', ''...And Mother Makes Three'', ''...And M ...

Joan Hickson Joan Bogle Hickson, OBE (5 August 1906 – 17 October 1998) was an English actress of theatre, film and television. She was known for her role as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series ''Miss Marple''. She also narrated a number ...

and

Joan Sims Irene Joan Marion Sims (9 May 1930 – 27 June 2001) was an English actress, best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' franchise, appearing in 24 of the films (the most for any actress). On television, she is known for playing Gran i ...

.Wearing p.437-38

References

Bibliography

* Wearing, J.P. ''The London Stage 1950-1959: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. 1955 plays Plays by John Dighton West End plays Comedy plays Plays set in London {{1950s-play-stub