A small family business - Stopgap theatre company

Date seen: 2nd August 2012

Venue: Isleworth public hall - Most unusual. You go up a flight of stairs & into a hall where you are seated at tables. A huge amount of home baking had been done so that you could buy a drink and cake.

Set: Quite elaborate and as it had to show several rooms often in use at the same time, it was very well done.

Costumes: Contemporary and unremarkable.

Plot: Jack McCraken arrives home to discover a surprise party, thrown by his wife Poppy, to celebrate him taking over the running of the family furniture business, Ayres and Graces, founded by his father-in-law, Ken. Jack makes an inspirational speech about the need for total honesty and incorruptibility in the business.

The party is disturbed when Benedict Hough, a private detective, arrives to announce he has caught Jack’s daughter Samantha shoplifting (to the value of £1.87). Hough threatens prosecution unless he gets a job with the family firm. Jack shows him the door. Scorned by his wife and other daughter Tina, for not standing up for Samantha, the women admit they have both committed minor indiscretions in the past.

The next day, Ken confides to Jack that the firm’s furniture is being copied by an Italian firm and believes there to be a spy in their firm. Jack contacts Hough and hires him; Hough drops the prosecution threat against Samantha and Jack becomes tainted by the very thing he despises. Hough discovers a firm called Rivetti is receiving the information. Jack realises the Rivettis are a contact of his brother, Cliff and goes to confront him. Unaware he is out, Jack discovers Cliff’s wife is having an affair with – it appears – most of the Rivetti brothers.

Performances: Too many to comment on each individually. All very accomplished though with Adrian Duce as Benedict stealing the show whilst teetering on  the edge of falling into caricature.

Summary: Another show that at 2'40 required some cuts, but the performances were of a high standard and the whole production had clearly had a huge amount of hard work put into it. My piece of victoria sponge was as light as a feather!

Intimate exchanges (A cricket match) - Eastbourne theatres

Date seen: 7th July 2012

Venue: Devonsire park, Eastbourne - A lovely few of the famous tennis stadium. This is a good-sized old theatre, full of character and tradition and with a nice feel to it. Feedbck from a speaker caused a constant distraction and the vestibule and toilets could all do with some modernization.

Set: Quite basic, but needs to be for the play. All very functional and did exactly what is was supposed to do.

Costumes: All fine. The quirky ones were quirky and the cricket gear was all spot on including helmet and grill.

Plot: Intimate Exchanges is a play written between 1982 and 1983, it consists of eight major stories all originating from a single opening scene. As the play progresses, the characters make choices each of which causes the story to go in one of two directions, leading to one of 16 possible endings.

Performances: Jenny Funnell - Excellent. Normality as Celia descends to the mad as a hatter Rowena and a sadly underused Sylvie. A really likeable performance.

Stephen Beckett: Had a harder task as two of his characters were most unlikeable. Miles however was endearing and I thought he gave a very solid and slightly under-appreciated performance.

Summary: Yes, this production was slightly too long and some cuts could easily have been made without damaging the feel of the piece - Always leave them wanting more! But it must have been huge fun to act and the whole change of character thing could make or break an actors reputation. I personally enjoyed both performances and look forward to seeing other productions to discover the different way this play can go.

Time of my life - Norwich players

Date seen: 2nd June 2012

Venue: Maddermarket theatre, Norwich. Down a small alley in the city centre. Perfectly ordinary downstairs. When you go to the gallery, there are armchairs, chez lounges and a huge dolls house as well as traditional theatre seating. Random but I loved it.

Set: Terrific right down to the plants and brickwork. I liked the set being on two levels. Very effective.

Costumes: All fine with Maureen getting more outrageous as the play went on.

Performances: Gerry (David Newham) - Nice manner. Steady rather than spectacular, I never really got the once powerful man.
Laura (Susan Seddon) - At last I've seen an actress nail this part. Brilliantly cold without appearing to be so if that makes sense. Superb performance.
Glyn (Max Rudd) - Very solid but I wish he hadn't spent so much time staring at the floor when he was speaking.
Stephanie (Angela Rowe) - A performance that grew on me. I loved her transformation from downtrodden to happy and successful.
Adam (Tom Girvin) - All actors I ever see play this role seem to look like this actor. Very nicely played though.
Maureen (Laura Landamore) - A very confident and likeable performance. Could even have afforded to be more outrageous as we go right back in time.
Waiter(s) (Trevor Burton) - Absolutely fabulous. Clearly enjoyed every moment and was a pleasure to watch.

Summary: A thoroughly professional performance all round and as competently played as any professional production of this play that I've seen. A quirky theatre rounded off an enjoyable afternoon.

Communicating doors - Knebworth Amateur theatre company

Date seen: 25th May 2012

Venue:  Knebworth village hall - A basic village hall with a small area serving refreshments

Set: Extremely good with a great balcony, well set bathroom and the most impressive Communicating door I've seen.

Costumes: All fine and in keeping

Plot: This cracking comedy-thriller begins with Reece Wells, a dying old businessman, attempting to ease his guilty conscience. He calls upon Poupée Désir , a leather-clad dominatrix, to witness the signing of a statement in which he confesses to being involved in the murders of his two former wives, Jessica and Ruella. But when his ruthless business partner, Julian who is also implicated by the statement, finds out, Poupée ('it's French for doll!' she insists) escapes her fate by fleeing through the communicating door and finds herself transported back to the same hotel suite twenty years earlier.

The plot sees the 'specialist sexual consultant' confronted with Reece's second wife, Ruella, on the eve of her murder. Can Poupée alter the course of events and save Ruella? And can Ruella go back a further twenty years and prevent Jessica, Reece's first wife, from being killed, too?

Set in three different time zones, 1990, 2010 and 2030, this clever and complex play has you on the edge of your seat throughout.

Performances:
Reece (Austin Willett) - Best as the final incarnation of Reece. As the infirm Reece, he was way too mobile and never appeared to be at death's door. His brief appearance as young Reece was hilarious for the wig alone.
Jessica (Zoe Baynes-Davidge) - A nice performance with her posh countess performance particularly endearing.
Ruella (Frances Farrugia) - A difficult part to play, this actress did a sterling job. Suitable amounts of bewilderment, excitement  and confusion were shown although she seemed to run out of steam towards the end of the play.
Julian (Martin Willoughby) - Okay but not nearly threatening or sinister. I neverbought him as a murderer.
Poopay (Lynsey Gammage) - Excellent! Really caught Poopay's vulnerability. It's so easy to play this character as a real hard-case, this performance drew out every dimension of a complicated character.
Harold (Stephen Magona) - I believe it was this actor's first appearance on stage. A nice effort but the inexperience showed. So many wonderful lines that Harold has were thrown away and were completely missed by the audience that didn't know the play.

Summary: The women outperformed the men, but the whole company had put in a huge amount of work. Technically excellent and the actors were really solid. A very enjoyable performance of a play that is close to my heart.

Confusions - Islington players

Date seen: 4th May 2012

Venue: Courtyard theatre - Up a flight of stairs and through a hall. Quite a nice little space in a quiet little London side-street.

Set: Extremely basic with a few flats with clothes draped over them and some simple items of furniture.

Plot: Five short comedic one-act plays

Performances: Too many to break down. This group is in its infancy and there was a mixture of the good, the average and the downright bizarre. Special mention to Pippa Brown who in the final piece gave a superbly genuine, heart-felt monologue. This actress has real promise.

Summary: Yo couldn't help but admire the sheer commitment and enthusiasm that this company showed. It was a real joy to see a fairly young audience.  A couple of the short plays just didn't work at all and a few of the performances were laughable for the wrong reasons. But I found myself routing for each and every one of the actorsand thoroughly enjoyed my evening. I hope to  see the Islington players grow from strength to strength.

Neighbourhood watch - Tricycle theatre

Date seen: 27 April 2012

Venue: Tricycle theatre. Lovely cafe area which is communal to the building. I didn't particularly like the auitorium itself. Very cramped and had scaffolding poles as part of its structure which kind of got in the way at times.

Set: Extremely basic with just seating and a fireplace. Although easy to tour with, it was too basic for me.

Costumes: Amy's costumes verged on the indecent, the security style jumpers were amusing, all the other costumes were fine.

Plot: The plot revolves around a Neighbourhood Watch group. A brother and sister move into an estate of private houses, are instilled with irrational fear about the council estate at the bottom of the garden, and set up a neighbourhood watch group. They only attract a committee of six, but it grows and develops into a gated community, complete with a Punishment Committee, public stocks and a private army of thugs (dad and two sons) who they can’t control.

Performances:  Dorothy (Eileen Battye) - Purely seemed to be there for comedy, nicely played though.
Rod (Terence Booth) - Very amusing early in the play, the part seemed to fade somewhat sadly.

Luther (Phil Cheadle) - Typical bad boy. A little cliched but still a strong portrayal.

Martin (Mathew Cottle) - Nicely played, but never came across as a home-wrecker (Which in reality he was), and I'm not sure I believed his ability to lead such a group.

Gareth (Richard Derrington) - Played as a stereotypical welshman. Funny  on occassion but the whole character was a little unoriginal.

Amy (Frances Grey)  - A real siren with legs that went on higher than I can see. Very sexy.

Magda (Amy Loughton) - An intelligent, vunerable and likeable performance.

Hilda (Alexandra Mathie) - A complex character with a delightful giggle and amusing little habbits. Showed a real strength as things progressed and had a few surprises up her sleave. Vry strong leading performance.

Summary: Well acted all round. My problem is that I never for one moment believed the storyline. I'm not sure if it was the basic set that did it as it never gave the impression of a house needing protection or just the plain silly direction that the story went in. I look forward to seeing what amateur groups do with this piece.

Ten times table - Hoddesdon players

Date seen: 20 April 2012

Venue: Very good. Large seating area with a well run bar. The auditorium is large with tiered seating and another few rows of free standing seating near the stage.

Set: Fairly simple but perfect for the play. The small stage at the back with the piano was good and both exits were well used.

Costumes: For the committee meetings they were unremarkable but fine. The John Cockle T-shirts were very bright and nicely designed. The costumes for the pageant were all brilliant.

Plot: Set in the ballroom of the dilapidated Swan Hotel, a group of local members of the Pendon community are brought together to organise a town pageant based on a lost piece of local history, the massacre of the Pendon Twelve – where the Earl of Dorset crushed an uprising of rebellious workers, led by John Cockle. The committee comprises disparate characters with very different views of what the pageant should be and what it represents.

As the meetings progress, the group becomes ideologically divided with the left-wing side, led by a Marxist Polytechnic teacher, building it up as a political rally. The right-wing side of the committee formulating plans for a violent confrontation in response.

Performances: Ray (Mike Marsh) - Had a Richard Wilson like pained expression, but was very amusing and played the part well.

Donald (Malcolm Trayhorn) - Superb, perfectly nerdish and irritating.

Helen (Christine Holt) - Make-up was a bit in your face, but she played the part well and was particularly funny in her last scene

Sophie (Suzanne Austin) - Attractively played and worked ever so hard especially when she wasn't actively engaged in dialogue.

Eric (Chris Whalley) - Surly and a deeply unpleasant character. Well portrayed though with just the right level of controlled fanaticism.

Audrey (Mary Newton) - Stole every scene she was in. Dream of a part for an actress of mature years. Absolutely hilarious.

Lawrence (Rob Ash) - It's so hard to play being drink believably. He certainly pulled it off and one round of applause after a long speech was well deserved.

Tim (Stephen Brody) - More effective when he played the captain rather than just Tim. Because of the way this actor speaks, he needed to slow the dialogue down. A lot of it merged into a a string of words that were difficult to make-out.

Philippa (Jurgita Baleviciute) - Delightful in her opening scene. She spoke so quietly that it was difficult to make out anything she said in act 2 due to the piano playing.

Max (Simon Tipple) - Very small part, perfect for a beginner.

Summary: There was a terrible masking issue in scene one of the opening act that lasted for between 5-10 minutes. A few scenes could have been tightened but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it and laughed out loud on many occasions. A  huge amount of effort had been put in and I certainly hope to see more Ayckbourn's from this company in the future.

How the other half loves - Mill at Sonning

Date seen: 13 April 2012

Venue: The Mill at Sonning - My favourite theatre! It's actually a dinner theatre. You have a meal before the show in their excellent diing area with incredibly friendly staff, pudding and coffee and then you go into the theatre. this is set in the round and has excellent, well-tiered views down to the open set.

Costumes: Set in the 1970's and everything was right for this perios without being too obvious.

Plot: Two of the characters have had an affair, a one-night fling, and another character suspects the truth. A fourth has no clue, but has a sense of something changed in the general atmosphere. Two others, innocents in it all, become caught up in the plot and add the elements of misunderstanding and misrepresentation.

Performances: Frank Foster (John Arthur) - Superbly dead-pan. I can't remember the last time a performance made me laugh this much Utterly top-notch.

Fiona Foster (Karen Ascoe) - Probably the least fun of the six parts to play, but she played it very well and was a nice foil to Frank with good comic timing.

Bob Phillips (Neil Andrew) - Deeply unpleasant as a character but that's what required from the part. Was spot on and he reminded me a bit of Mr Bannister from 'Are you being served' with the facial expressions.

Teresa Phillips (Penelope Rawlins) - Played this as verging on the edge of unbalanced or post-natal depression. Great energy drove this partnership along.

William Featherstone (Harry Gostelow) - At times seemed timid and then seemed potentially violent. A complex character but extremely watchable.

Mary Featherstone (Alison Pettitt) - Tremendous! Wonderful facial expressions from the put-upon, yet strong willed Mary. Just delightful!

Summary: A bit of a rush after work on Friday but the delightful setting, best meal we've ever had there and then the highest quality show made this a memorable evening. The farcical timing was spot on and the sets and props were so clever. Brilliant show all round.

Living together - Cuffley players

Date seen: 29th March 2012

Venue: Cuffley Hall, Cuffley

Set: Extremely good. Fake books looked extremely convincing, had a real feeling of a genuine room with a lovely backdrop behind the French doors and well furnished.

Costumes: My only quibble is after changing for the evening, why did everyone change back to their original costumes for the next morning. Surely you would take a change of clothes if staying away? Otherwise, they were fine and I loved Norman's green, woolly hat.

Plot: This one begins on Saturday evening with Norman sulking because his trip has been canceled, Reg dealing with the bags - and the game he's invented that he's hoping to play - and Sarah marshaling everyone around. As the plays pile up the sense that anyone has control over anything really does deteriorate, because we see what's happening in the next room when character's aren't around we see how little effect individual's attempts to control the situation have.

Married relationships take the foreground in this play. Particularly Sarah and Reg's union - with her constantly running him down and bossing him - dismissing his attempts to get everyone to play his game with him - and his general acceptance of her command. This plays counter to Ruth and Norman's marriage which although Norman seems unable to stop himself from suggesting a roll on the carpet or a get-away to Bournemouth to every lady present has an honesty and bluntness that carries them - and by the end, carries them through. In a way.

Perfromances:

Sarah (Jenny Wood) - Not bad, but I felt her desire for a weekend away with Norman at the end came absolutelt from nowhere. Also was a bit too shrieky when she had a scene being angry.

Reg (Ivan Moody) - Tried really hard without ever seeming to get the audience to warm to him. He had some really nice moments.

Norman (Derek Parr) - Got Norman to an absolute T. Lecherous, onerous, but played the character with real skill.

Annie (Charlotte Acutt) - A lovely portrayal of  ac haracter fighting between her head and her heart. Had a much better chemistry with Tom than Norman and maybe that's what the character of Annie could never see?

Tom (Andrew Kent) - Terrific! Bumbling, inoffensive, gentle even when he was cross. This performance was such a delight and a much needed contrast to all the other characters.

Ruth (Sue Gooch)  -Only appears in act two. Solid enough and her scene with Norman on the carper was very amusing.

Summary: An unfortunate incident with a member of the audience blacking out occurred halfway through act one. A lot of concern and scurrying about with medical help being called meant that concentration was lost all around. In hindsight, I feel the tabs should have been pulled, but 'The show must go on' and it did. We were not a good audience from the start and the Cuffley players never got the early laughs that would have helped the production along. It all seemed to fall a bit flat, although I did actually thoroughly enjoy the show and I hope to get the opportunity to see more at this neat little venue.

Absent friends - Harold Pinter Theatre

Date seen: 23/3/12

Venue: Didn't really like it. I had a pillar in my peripheral vision, a rail in front of me that obscured my view & I couldn't see down left of the stage. You travel all around the country to little theatrs and have no problems seeing, you hit the West End and encounter all this for three times the price. Not good enough!!

Set: Exquisite. Beautifully put together and very functional. Couldn't fault it.

Costumes: Not a lot to report. A lot more conservative than many productions of this play that I've seen, but all fine.

Performances: Evelyn (Kara Tointon) - Great. Monosyllabic as the character should be, but very funny.

Diana (Katherine Parkinson) - As flaky as I've ever seen this character played from  the early scenes and it really worked. An enjoyable portrayal.

Marge (Elizabeth Berrington) - Another nice performance. I've seen more made of the telephone calls with Gordon but she proved to be a nice contrast to the other female characters.

Paul (Steffan Rhodri) - As low-key as I've ever seen Paul played. He's usually so brash and belligerent at the beginning of the play. In this production, the character just seemed depressed. An interesing & thought-provoking interpretation.

John (David Armand) - Very nice work. I loved his finger clicking routine during an awkward silence. A very watchable actor.

Colin (Reece Shearsmith) - More geaky that I've often seen this character played. I actually thoroughly enjoyed the performance and the comedy that he drew from the part.

Summary: Long silences in comedy can be so terribly hard to pull off. These silences just kept coming in this production and they were brilliantly held. All very professional and although it's not my favourite of Ayckbourn's plays, I did enjoy the evening. I just wish I could have seen more of it!!! 

Bedroom farce - Compass theatre

Date seen:  15 March 2012

Venue: Compass theatre, Ickenham.  I really liked it. Modern with a bar and coffee area. The box office was well run, the staff were friendly and there was a generally comfortable atmosphere. Lots of well-tiered seating and a large stage.

Costumes: All good. Nothing seemed out of place. I particularly liked Nick's superman T-shirt and the assorted nightwear.

Plot: Delian and Ernest are celebrating an anniversary. Nick stays at home, bemoaning his lot and his bad back, whilst Jan heads off to Malcolm and Kate's housewarming party and Sussanah and Trevor effortlessly sabotage everyone's plans. Four couples, three bedrooms, one eventful night.

Perfromances:

Ernest (David Pearson) - Very nicely judged with terrific comic timing. His chemistry with Delia was a delight.

Delia (Susi Thornton) - What a lovely face! This was an absolutely charming performance full of warmth and humour. All her mannerisms and business with make-up was terrific. Shame she had one scene in act 2 where she lost the lines as it put a slight dampener on an otherwise terrific characterisation.

Nick (Robert Ewen) - I couldn't get over how like Phil Jupitus he looked with his glasses on. I loved the glasses on the teddy bear. Some terrific facial expression used. The fall out of bed scene would have been more effective if we hadn't had to spend two minutes watching him crawl across the stage.

Jan (Hannah Lester) - Quite strong. Very confident and the scene where she was trapped beneath Nick was very funny.

Malcolm (Paul Davis) - Couldn't really make my mind up about him. Some lovely business with coats and the cabinet. I wasn't sure he entirely got the playful nature with Kate at the beginning of the play.

Kate (Angie Sutherland) - Delightful! Always trying to please and be a good hostess. Some nice, gentle comedy.

Trevor (Ben Morris) - At times, spot on and very funny. But I think he tried too hard which made the character less believable. The bit in his opening scene about a pressure weighing down on him was way over the top which meant it ended up not being funny. Comedy/farce has to be played as tragedy and if an actor corpses at a scene, however funny it is, it loses its impact and sadly that's what happened with an otherwise priceless moment with the cabinet.

Sussanah (Clare Wooster) - I really enjoyed this performance. Every so slightly bonkers, this actress had a lovely, strong voice and found some lovely natural positions sitting on various beds. I liked the slight hippiness about her as well.

Summary: At times, the pace slackened off which meant a lot of the comedy was lost. A great set though with some very effective props. Despite the few critiscisms, the audience really enjoyed it and I would love to make a return visit to this delightful little theatre and hard-working company.

Miss Yesterday - York Theatre Royal Studio

Date seen: 10 March 2012

Venue: The inside of the venue is fairly cramped with not a lot of room to wait in comfort. This show was in the studio rather than the main arena. I love intimate theatres like this. Set in the round with only three or four rows of seats on each side.

Set: Triangular flats that were rotated to depict a wall, bedroom and living room worked well as did the removable school gate. Other than that, it's just a bare stage with items of furniture brought on from time to time.

Costumes: All modern day. Tammie's T-shirt & hoody were perfect, in fact all the costumes were fine.

Plot: Fifteen year old Tammy and her friend Roz are trying to break into school to see tomorrow’s exam papers. Tammy, for whom failure is the norm, is spotted climbing the gate. Roz flees and Tammy is taken to the police station. Refusing to co-operate, she is taken home to face the wrath of her parents Andrew and Josie. They both despair of Tammy, jump to the wrong conclusions and even suggest she should be taken away for treatment! Sadly, Tammy cannot match her brother Ian’s high standards in the eyes of her parents. Locked in silence with her parents, Tammy eventually tries to explain, except her parents have fallen asleep.Roz comes to see Tammy, although she obviously has a crush on Ian, who shows far more understanding of Tammy’s situation than her parents. Ian offers Tammy some good advice and tells her to be herself. He leaves for a cricket match on his motorcycle. Later, Andrew comes to Tammy and announces Ian has died in a crash.
Alone in a park, Tammy is approached by a stranger who seems to know a lot about Tammy and even appears to read her thoughts. She offers Tammy the opportunity to go back in time 24 hours. Tammy reluctantly agrees and finds herself back at the school-gates.

Performances:

Tammy Laidlaw (Lucy May Orange) - An absolute tour de force. On stage just about every second, this performance was powerful, funny, full of angst, despair, moodiness. This actress has all the skills and talents that you could ever want. A brilliant performance.

Roz Butcher (Terri-Ann Prendergast) - At first I wondered if she was pitching her character as too young. But as we hit act 2, I bought into it and found this performance added a lovely light-heartiness to events. 

Security guard (Lee Starkey) - Very small role but secured a couple of nice laughs.

PC Carol Winterbush (Vivienne Clare) - Okay, but her interrogation scene in act one seriously lacked pace and attack. So many more laughs could have been gained with a different comic timing. The weakest scene in the play.

Andrew Laidlaw (Mike Hickman) - I liked his opening scene where he showed a nice, easy-going personality. I thought the scene where he broke the news of Uan's death to be a bit matter-of -fact.

Josie Laidlaw (Helen Wilson) - Again, I felt this actress missed out on opportunities for comedy. Possibly not her fault, but there were several masking issues. In act one when she was talking across stage to Tammie, I spent two minutes staring at her rear end and seeing nothing else.

Ian Laidlaw (Alan Flower) - Had a great voice and looked absolutely right. A gentle but thought-provoking style. One little point, I wish his hair had somehow been made to look completely different for the very final scene.

The Stranger (Beryl Nairn) - Gorgeous perfromance. An actress with real stage presence. Hasd exactly the right air of confidence and assuredness and again, looked absolutely right.

Summary: For this play to work, you have to cast absolutely the right actress for Tammie. Boy, did we have the right actress. She carried the whole production and her facial expressions and tone of delivery were so spot on. A few clunky scene changes slowed things down a bit, but a pleasant under-score made this bearable. I traveled quite a way to see this, I didn't regret it for one minute. I loved the play which has such a strong, moral message for teenagers who maybe have lost their way. Some people left the theatre in tears as it was so poignant. I now  have hopes and ambitions to stage it myself. 
 

Absent friends - Mercury theatre

Date seen:  1st March 2012

Venue: Mercury theatre, Colchester - Modern looking, spacious theatre. A huge, low stage, mountains of tiered seating, a bar on the 1st floor and a coffee bar on the ground floor. One complaint, I was charged 60p for a two bar kit-kat. To charge that much for a tiny thing like that is not big, is not clever and is daylight robbery. Whoever made the decision should be embarrassed and ashamed.

Set: Majestic. They had the luxury of space. But tremendous, authentic furniture all fitted the time perfectly and the set was dressed so well. I particularly liked the tea with fondant fancies, cherries on cakes and pineapple and cheese sticks. So 1970's.

Costumes: All very good. platform shoes for the ladies and a nice 1970's hairband for Diana. Paul with the open necked white shirt was just missing the medallion.

Plot: Diana has organised a tea party for Colin, an old friend of her husband Paul. Colin’s fiancé has recently drowned and the aim is to cheer him up with a gathering of old friends Paul, John and Gordon.
Gordon is, typically, ill and his wife Marge turns up instead, while Paul and John are less than enthusiastic about the party.
All this hides deep problems: Paul has had a brief affair with John’s wife Evelyn – who has brought her baby to the party and is dismissive of Paul’s love-making; Marge is desperate for a child of her own and has transferred her maternal instincts on to an increasingly dependent and accident-prone Gordon; Diana is desperately unhappy, misses her children who are at boarding school and is bullied by Paul – who she suspects of having a major affair with Evelyn; John is aware of Evelyn’s affair, but is dependent on Paul for employment. Both John and Paul are so uncomfortable with the idea of meeting Colin that they play down their friendship to the point of almost non-existence.

Performances:

Paul (Ignatius Anthony) - Complete with 1970's porno moustache, this was a very well attacked role, particularly in act one. Paul almost drifts away from the action as act two progresses, but this character was suitably annoying.

Diana (Smsndda Haberland) - A lovely performance, A real driving force at the start of the play. Her work 'off the ball' with her facial expressions and sly glances were a hoot. Her breakdown was superbly done and she was a delight.

Evelyn (Clare Humphrey) - Nicely played monosyllabic slut. She really didn't fit in with any of the characters around her, but this actress extracted all the humour with this little gem of a part.

Marge (Gina Isaac) - Described by the men as a stick insect. You could see the anguish and constant conflict going through her. Tried to be upbeat and cheerful and kept putting her foot in it. Very funny performance.

Colin (Ben Livingstone) - Perfectly pitched from the minute he burst on stage. Let all the chaos ride over him and gave an enthusiastc, upbeat performance that hit exactly the right note.

John (David Tarkenter) - Probably the hardest part to play. He got some good laughs and again, facially did some great work. I wondered if he could have been more fidgety and more under Paul's spell?

Summery: - A painful play to watch at times. this was a terrific production with a glorious set and strong acting throughout. 

Haunting Julia - Pomegranate theatre

Date seen:  25/2/12

Venue: Traditional style theatre with a nice bar area and plenty of leg room. The stage is quite high meaning you have to look up a bit.

Set: Reasonably good although it was all so far upstage. Bringing it down stage could have engaged the audience even more and enveloped them into the tense chillness of the story.

Costumes: Standard jacket and ties for all three characters. I feel that Ken should be dressed in a slightly less conventional manner. This attire just made him seem a bit ordinary.

Plot: Julia Lukin was a musical prodigy who committed suicide 12 years earlier. Her father Joe has never come to terms with her death and in the Julia Larkin Centre For Performing Studies, he hopes to discover what happened by meeting with a psychic, Ken, and Julia’s boyfriend, Andy, who was the last person to see her alive.

Performances:

Joe (John Hester) - Had the perfect look and voice and was strong to begin with. I felt his character faded somewhat and I would have liked to have seen some more of his overbearing nature explored.

Andy (Chris Sheridan) - Terrific. You really sa a change in the character as the situation tormented him more and more. His long speeches were brilliantly delivered. A thoroughly enjoyable perfomance.

Ken (John Goodrum) - Didn't do it for me at all. He seemed way too normal, where as I think you should be slightly uneasy watching and listening to him. I feel this is a really complex character and yet it was played in such a one dimensional way.

Summary: An enjoyable show although I've seen it done better. The teddy on th bed moment was a huge disappointment - It ought to make the audience jump out of their skin! The effects at the end were okay but there could hve been so much more with collapsing bookcases etc. The bed sheet was very nicely done though. I love the character of Ken that Ayckbourn has created and I was deeply disappointed with his portrayal. Always an interesting show to go and watch though.

Bedroom Farce - Crescent theatre

Date seen: 28/01/12

Venue: Crescent theatre - Birmingham.  A traditional style theatre in the city centre. A nice, slightly curved stage and plenty of seats. A well run coffee bar/bar with plenty of room to relax before the show.

Set: Three bedrooms and nicely spaced apart. At three slightly different levels, it was quite effective and the wallpaper decoration was superb. All three rooms were functional and well dressed.

Costumes: All very 1970's. Wide collared shirts and kipper ties. Dresses that I thought were quite horrible until I remembered tat they were the height of fashion for the time.

Plot: Bedroom Farce is a play that contains a melee of events touched with certain philandering characters, all occurring within similar moments of one another. Alan Ayckbourn’s clever uses of time and space makes this a very intricate and sophisticated comedy while also portraying the deteriorating and rebuilding of relationships among young couples. This play explores the differences in relationships between the younger and older generations while capitalizing on certain unlikely issues that may strain the relationships even further. 

Performances: Ernest (John Whittell) - A performance that grew on me tremendously. A shaky couple of lines at the start of each act, he then moved on to give a beautifully judged, gentle perforance with a magnificent display of comic timing. In hindsight, the performance I enjoyed the most.

Delia (Pauline O'Connor) - A perfect foil to Ernest. This couples gentle delivery was perfect for the older characters that they were playing. Delia's line about sleeping on a herring trawler had me giggling all the way home.

Jan (Susan Keats) - The one performance that didn't really do it for me. She was bang on cue with ll her lines, but this is a complex character and I never felt that this was fully explored. The actress seemed slightly uncomfortable throughout the play and her passionate kiss with Trevor seemed to come from nowhere and didn't really ring true.

Nick (Jeremy Wyatt) - 90% of the time, this character was lying in bed. He made up for this with tremendous expression and very good projection and comedy. The scene where he fell out of bed & tried to get back in were a joy.

Kate (Jen Meeghan) - Another delightful performance. She saw the best in everybody and also showed great comic timing. An absolute delight.

Malcolm (Paul Brotherton) - A face and voice made for comedy! This actor brought a tremendous energy to all his scenes and really helped bring the show to life in the early stages.

Trevor (James David Knapp) - The centerpiece really and another well judged performance. I couldn't help thinking how similar he is to Martin Freeman in size, look and delivery. Loved his 1970's facial sideburns.

Sussanah (Paula Wall) - Another very strong comic performance. This is a slightly screwed up character and I think I might have asked for her to be played as slightly more manic, but I thoroughly enjoyed her performance.

Summary: Very well produced & directed and clearly a huge amount of work had gone into rehearsals. It skipped along at a helthy pace and was very well acted with a great looking, functional set and props that were all spot on. I went home with a smile on my face, dreaming of pilchards on toast. 

Joking apart - Union theatre

Date seen:  Friday January 13th

Venue Union Theatre, London - Extraordinary little venue set under a railway arch. A small cafe is set in front of the dooe which sits a handful of people but sells coffee at a more than reasonable price. A small bar is just inside the entrance. The theatre seemed to sit about 50 people and it was sold out with folk awaiting returns. The set is right in front of you, a feature that I love! The thunder of trains can often be heard but this just added to the character.

Set: Excellent, considering the lack of space. The tennis court was well depicted and the garden was functional without being spectacular.

Costumes: Very good. The tennis shorts were almost embarrassingly short put perfect for the period. Sven & Olive's Christmas jumpers were the pick of the bunch.

Plot: The play takes place over a 12-year period in the back garden of near-perfect couple Richard and Anthea, whose circle of friends includes a smug Scandinavian couple, a crisis-stricken Vicar and his neurotic wife, a neglected girlfriend and an aging lothario.

Performances:  

Richard (Jamie Kenna) Nicely judged performance. Solid, consistently cheerful and yet obviously in control of everything around him.

Anthea (Claire Marlowe) Sparky, funny, very pretty. This was a hugely watchable performance. She had a habit of flicking up the back of her left ankle that was positively endearing.

Sven (Andrew Obeney) A performance that grew on me. He played a Scandanavian. His accent seemed to have a touch of an Al Pacino gangster to it. But he played the later scenes superbly and his long speech at Debbie's birthday party was priceless.

Olive (Charlotte Moore) A character that never seemed to develop. The actress was solid enough, but the character never really grew on me.

Hugh (Jamie Richards)  Stole every scene that he was in. It was like watching Hugh Grant with his mannerisms and delivery. Very, very funny.

Louise (Monica Bertei) Played a mousy, vicar's wife early on who clearly didn't want to mix with the neighbours and her insecurity was nicely portrayed. Her scene 4 performance when under medication that wasn't quite right was marvelous and extremely funny showing this actresses's obvious range.

Brian (Paul Anthoney) Okay, but at his best in the opening scene. Debbie suggests that there's something leery about him, but I never really got that and because of this, the final line of the play fell rather flat.

Mo/Mandy/Melody/Debbie (Antonia Reid)  So much more could have been made of this part. I never bought the brash Canadian, she fell in and out of drunkenness in that scene despite a few nice moments, the silent artist was nicely done however. In my opinion, she was miscast as there's no way that she would pass for playing an 18 year old. Sorry!

Summery: The first time I'd seen this play. Typical Ayckbourn, so I left happy. A very enjoyable evening at a unique venue that I very much hope to return to. I can't wait to see this play again to see how different groups interpret it.