The Grange Players
Presents
Touch and Go
13th – 22nd
July 2017
Just about every actor and
director I have met have told me that farces are among the most challenging of
productions to successfully stage, not least because on the surface, the exaggerated
and rather implausible situations have to appear as impromptu and
believable. It is also challenging for
Companies to take on these plays because the genre, with its humour seemingly firmly
set in the 1970’s and 1980’s, can seem out-dated to modern audiences. There is, therefore, a marginal difference
between a production that has the audience rolling with laughter or squirming
with embarrassment. So, it is always
with a sense of trepidation I approach these as an audience member.
I need not have worried. The Grange Players have put on a very-well
directed, fast-paced, slick and hugely enjoyable evening’s entertainment, where
I soon immersed myself in the humour, forgot about how improbable it all was,
and remembered that the art of the double–entendre has its place, as long as it
is well-delivered.
Of course, there is a great
deal of hard work that goes into staging a play that looks effortless and, in
the case of a farce, many pitfalls to avoid.
A good production needs a strong script, a talented cast and a skilled
director. To start with the script: with,
perhaps, the exception of the Master of Farce, Ray Cooney, few have manged to
draw an audience in so that the absurd seems plausible. With Touch
and Go Derek Benfield produces the usual mix of sex, adultery, lies,
deception, improbable situations and arrangements going wrong, in a clever script
written with economy and fluidity, which compensates for the formulaic
approach. The characters are well-drawn,
at least to those of us who remember the early 1980s. Lovers of the double-entendre will of course
enjoy this play, although I must say even in 1982, when the play was written,
the ‘coq-au-vin’ pun would have been barely funny, even if used just the
once. Mr Benfield obviously thought this
line funny enough to use over and again.
All of this counts for nothing
if the cast don’t understand the rules of farce. In this production the cast work hard to make
the characters believable and to ensure the comedy emerges from the situation,
rather than exaggerating characteristics or looking for cheap laughs. The script is delivered with pace and
precision, and the second Act in particular draws us in and speeds along like a
train, with a nice little twist at the end.
It should also be pointed out that the cast demonstrated a great deal of
stamina, which was needed not only to sustain the pace and physicality, but
also to endure what must have been one of the hottest and most humid evenings
of the summer.
We first meet the colourful, playful,
and ever-hopeful of finding love, Wendy, just about the most innocent of the
characters in this play. Dressed for a
night of thrills, Naomi Millard plays the character with innocence and
bewilderment as the action unfolds around her.
Keith Hayes eases into his role as Brian, general cad and rather
unlikely love interest of Wendy, well. This
role, of all of them, needed to avoid the trap of over-playing, and Keith
delivers a suitably restrained and believable performance. Liz Webster plays Hilary as a seemingly rather
calculating character. She has lovely
timing and manages that most difficult task for actors, getting drunk on stage,
in a believable and controlled manner.
Rod Bissett shines in his role as George. One feels as if he has somehow been reeled in
by Hilary, and although far from innocent, brings a lot of pathos to the role,
in particular when he is exposed in his Y-fronts and shirt. Finally, Suzy Donnelly as fashion designer Jessica,
returning a day early from a work trip to New York, appears completely taken in
by the web of lies and deceit woven around her. Suzy adds real depth to the
character, and one is never sure if she has really been taken in by the
events. Events at the end suggest
perhaps she wasn’t as innocent after all.
All in all, this strong cast brings both range and depth to their
characterisation, which is rare in farces.
The Director, Louise Farmer,
has put on a polished production. She
understands the genre and has got the best out of a strong cast, allowing them
to develop clear characters while maintaining the necessary constraints
required by a farce. Louise also
designed the set, which is split to represent the two apartments where the
action takes place, with a lighting design that reflects this. Simple and effective it ensures the pace
never drops and the action is continuous.
The audience at this sold out
evening at The Grange clearly enjoyed this play. If you can get a ticket, and enjoy humour
circa 1982, you should go and see it.
On until the 22nd
July
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