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.
