Touch and Go - The Grange Players - 13-22.07.17

The Grange Players

Presents

Touch and Go

13^th – 22^nd 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 22^nd July

The Grange Players - Holmes for the Holidays - 11.01.17 - 21.01.17

 The Grange Players

Present:

Holmes for the Holidays

11.01.17 - 21.01.17

The trepidation awaiting a critic’s review can be a daunting prospect. As an actor myself, I empathise with any cast or production team member who would echo the play’s line ‘She was ruthless. She was evil! She was a theatre-critic for God’s sake!’ Be reassured. The ‘Holmes for the Holidays’ team should have no such anxieties: there is much to praise in this show.

Attending The Grange theatre for the first time, any trace of apprehensions I might have held were soon dispersed. This is a space of welcome, a place of shared experience where theatre is enjoyed. The warmth and efficiency of the gentleman manning the ticket desk thawed me as I stepped beyond the reach of the cold, snowy night outside. The auditorium’s rake of comfortable seating was soon filled almost to capacity - no mean feat for any theatre on a night in mid-January. In the half-lit atmosphere of this intimate proscenium venue, an expectancy of enjoyment pervaded before curtain-up.

The venue is pertinent, for this play of two acts, set in the Christmas period of 1936, would not sit half so well in a pared-down, black-box space. It provides a seamless complement to the masterfully tailored set, which supplies both period aesthetic and functionality for essential stage-business.

In many theatre pieces of this nature, the technicals shine when appropriate and effective without being intrusive, and for this very reason can often be overlooked. On this criteria, the show’s sound and lighting design, intrinsic to the play’s telling, were impeccable. Costume and properties were made well to purpose and would serve a several-month run.

‘Holmes for the Holidays’ is the pen-work of ‘the purveyor of light comedy to middle America’ (show programme, citing The Times, 2006) Ken Ludwig, and the director and cast do well to present the piece to a British audience and maintain its distinctive US flavour throughout. A rapid East coast patter between William Gillette (Robert Meehan) and his houseguests is supported by all the cast with fluent accent, manner and interaction. Whilst at times the first act feels a little expositional, by the interval this ensemble immerse the audience thoroughly in the small 1930s world of egos, friendships, insecurities and trusts between actors who strut the stage. The wonderfully executed slapstick, delivered without excess by characters Daria Chase, Felix Gisel and William Gillette (Liz Webster, Sam Evans, Robert Meehan), adds to the humour and harkens back subtly to 1930s comedy styles.

Act two witnesses the Sherlock actor Gillette don his robes and pit his wits to the challenge of solving the case, and here the energy changes: there’s a murderer at large, and the drawing-room banter and revelations are superseded by purposeful activity. This, together with the introduction of Inspector Goring, adeptly played by Suzy Donnelly, lends more of the familiar territory of the who-dunnit and drives the pace to the final scenes.

There are conventions and concepts within ‘Holmes for the Holidays’ that will be recognisable to many actors and, whilst it is not essential to appreciate these to enjoy a performance, it may be a service for any reviewer here to highlight them to a potential audience member. The first scene is brief in nature, and in the spirit of ‘in late/out early’ begins mid-action without preamble at the curtain-call of a particular Sherlock Holmes performance. The piece assumes a conventional linear plot structure from the start. An awareness of this may avoid some confusion.

The prevalence of characters (not actors) taking the limelight and declaiming in the piece may also initially startle. The quoting of famous dramatic pieces, the basking in the approval of peers, all this expression of talent or ego amongst Gillette’s guests seems the hallmark of actors in each others company, and it takes a skilled ensemble to pull this off well. We watch actors performing the roles of 1930s stage actors, and it is good to accept that what they do is credible and naturalistic.

Directed by Chris Waters, ‘Holmes for the Holidays’ runs from 11th through to 21st January 2017.

Review by Anthony Webster

The Grange Players - Bracken Moor - 16.11.16 - 26.11.16

Bracken Moor

The Grange Players 

The Grange Theatre, Walsall

16^th – 26^th November 2016

This is an excellent production of a gripping and ghostly tale set in the 1930s, with surprises, personal transformations and twists on the way, and which draws parallels with current world affairs.

The programme describes this play as “a drama that speaks to us all set against the economic crisis of the 1930’s”.  Set in a large austere Yorkshire house the play opens with mine owner Harold Pritchard (Adam Woodward) and collier John Bailey (Robert Onions) discussing the potential closure of a mine with the loss of 140 jobs.  Harold and his wife Elizabeth (Julie Lomas) then play hosts to their old friends the Averys from London. They haven’t met for ten years following the death of Pritchard’s son in terrible circumstances at the age of 12, after which Mrs Pritchard in a state of shock and grief withdrew from life.  All the memories resurface when Avery’s 22 year old son Terence (Rob Meehan), who was very close to Edgar, starts experiencing nightmares whilst sleeping in the dead son’s bedroom. 

Although set in the 1930s this is a modern play, first performed in 2013.  The Anglo-Greek playwright Alexis Kaye Campbell sets out an ambitious vision, and draws our attention to parallels between the events leading up to the Second World War and the current poor state of world affairs.  Campbell strives to do this by creating tensions in the plot concerning the rise of fascism, failures of capitalism, the gap between the political left and right, between mysticism and materialism and along the way touches on oppression, emancipation, feminism, male roles and expectations, and even throws in a bit of Freud for good measure.  There is a lot going on!  Underneath then, this is a deeply political play that is concerned that humanity should not repeat historical failures and looks at how this might be achieved.  Whether Campbell quite succeeds in his ambition is less certain.  Certainly there is plenty of personal awakening and transformation going on here.  Maybe, however, his ambition is too big and, without giving away any spoilers, the dramatic device the playwright uses to resolve the various tensions is unconvincing.  Campbell may have achieved a bit more by saying a bit less. 

Notwithstanding this, the Grange Players succeed in delivering an excellent production.  The writer has created characters which under less experienced hands could have been clichéd and Director Rachel Waters ensured that the characters remained restrained and drew out excellent performances throughout.  Julie Lomas particularly was superb as the grief stricken mother burdened by guilt and wishing only for death.  She played the role with delicious understatement which hinted at underlying madness.   Adam Woodward as her husband Harold managed the no-nonsense self-satisfied gruff northern persona well and overcame the challenge of playing an older character.  Rob Meehan as Terence Avery takes on a very difficult role with great aplomb, throwing himself whole-heartedly into this complex character.  He convinces us that this young, worldly, university drop-out has wisdom and idealism way beyond his years, and who can provide hope, albeit in a rather manipulative way.  He was at his best and shone in an excellent scene with Mrs Pritchard.  Samantha Allen played the role of Vanessa Avery with real conviction and moved between compassion and anger with brisk ease.  There was less scope for expression for Les Wilkes as antique dealer Geoffrey Avery, with a character who seemed a little baffled by the proceedings, but he was a well-judged foil to some of the hysteria going on around him.  Robert Onions as John Bailey was completely authentic as the left-wing and compassionate collier trying to save the jobs of his men.  Dr Gibbons, played by David Weller, was needed to add credence to the underlying premise of the play, and a bought a respectful perspective on the supernatural which allowed the plot to develop.  Leanne Brown as the maid added a suitably hysterical fear of God atmosphere to the proceedings.

The cast was supported by an excellent set by All Round Property Services which achieved the right 1930s austerity, as did the authentic costumes by Rosemary Manjunath.  The sound and light design, by Stan Vigurs and Colin Meers, was spot-on and made an important contribution to building the atmosphere and tension. 

Overall, there were few flaws in this excellent production of an interesting, challenging, haunting and thought provoking play.

The play runs until the 26^th November.

Reviewed by Martin Walker

Sense and Sensibility - The Grange Players - 20.07.16 - 30.07.16

Jane Austen's

Sense & Sensibility

Adapted by Jessica Swale

July 20th - July 30th 2016

Directed By Louise Farmer

Sense & Sensibility is one of Jane Austen's best loved novels. It was written in 1811. 

Jessica Swale adapted the novel into a play and directed it in 2014 at The Watermill Theatre.

It is a charming story of the Dashwoods who are forced out of their home after their father died leaving all of his fortune to a male heir, his son John by his first marriage.

John's wife, Fanny, played by Liz Webster, was a nasty piece of work and declaired that the Dashwoods needed to leave their beloved Norland Park and they ended up in a cold Devonshire Cottage which was kindly offered to them by Sir John Middleton (Andy Jones).  Mrs Jennings, played by Jill Simkins made it her mission to marry the three Dashwood girls off and it's not long before a dashing Mr Willoughby, played with charm by Matt Cotter appeared on the scene to capture the heart of Marrianne Dashwood who was depicted by Stephanie Evans as a girl who lives for the moment and wears her heart well and truly on her sleeve. Her sweet nature and lovely singing voice also captured the heart of Colonel Brandon, nicely played by Sam Evans. His portrayal of the overshadowed love interest was delicately displayed. We also had 2 further Dashwood children, Elinor, the oldest of the three who kept her love for Edward Ferrars (Tomas Frater) hidden after she discovered that he was already promised to Lucy Steele (Libby Allport).

Elinor was played by Rachel Holmes and she gave a touching portrayal of a girl with far too much on her young shoulders. Her scenes with Edward were delicately portrayed and both gave some very touching portrayals.

Sam Allen gave a strong performance as Mrs Dashwood, the wife left with out a husband, fortune or home. Her expressions throughout told a thousand stories.

Katie Allen was a delight as the youngest Dashwood Daughter, Margaret. Her innocent, funny, full of life performance was touching and extremely entertaining.

One character to mention was Mr Palmer, played by Dan Payne. His glum, dry one liners captured the moment brilliantly and the audience couldn't help but laugh every time he opened his mouth or gave a knowing glance.

The show is full of pace and humour. There is a nice distinction between light and shade and Louise Farmer has directed this piece well.

Lighting depicted the different times of day well and the set worked well with different locations from rooms to outdoors.

The only slight flaw in the performance had to be the scene changes. The show has many scenes and changes in venue and it did slow the production down slightly. This was opening night though so there was time for the changes to quicken up and also to be a little less noisy.

Overall, this was a well put together production and is well worth going to see.

The show runs until 30th July 2016

Edith in the Dark - The Grange Players - 11.05.16-21.05.16

The Grange Players

Presents

Edith in the Dark

By Philip Meeks

May 11th - 21st 2016

 

We are greeted with a strikingly eerie set, dimmed lights and sinister music which sets the scene nicely for the events that are to unfold in this sometimes dark and sometimes humerous production.

 

The production was set in the house of author Edith Nesbitt who had escaped from her husbands Christmas Party and was entertaining a mysterious, handsome guest, Mr Guasto. He had gatecrashed the party to meet Edith and asked her to read to him from one of her stories. He particularly wanted to hear from The Railway Children or one of her children's tales, but Edith preferred to read from one of her early works, her horror stories.

 

These stories were filled with sadness and loss which disturbed the mysterious young man.

 

They were joined by the Housekeeper, Biddy who decided to join them in the ghostly stories armed with a jug of punch!

 

As the evening unfolded, the stories got darker and darker with each character taking on the characters within the stories until ending with the discovery of the mysterious Mr Guasto's identity.

 

The Grange Players set the piece perfectly. The set, Ediths attic writing room was dark and uninviting with cobwebs and dying flowers scattered around. The lighting created subtle shadows as if ghosts were watching over them and the sound was perfectly in time with the action and really gave the piece a sense of dispair and sorrow.

 

The actors, Samantha Allan (Edith), Rob Meehan (Mr Guasto) and Lynne Young (Biddy Thricefold) played their parts well and went in and out of their different characters within the horror stories well, which allowed the audience to distinguish between their real characters and the characters in the story.

 

Please do not be put off this production with the thought that it is completely full of darkness, as there are some extremely funny one liners which breaks the tension up nicely and is a great piece of theatre to go and watch.

 

The show is directed by Rachel Waters and runs until 21st May.