84 Charring Cross Road

I received a warm welcome to the Writtle Village Hall and was greeted by a lovely set. It was packed with attention to detail being split between the booksellers, Marks & Co; and Helen Hanff’s apartment, raised up in the left hand corner.

Though Hanff, played by Sharon Goodwin and Frank Doel played by Jerry Thomas carry most of the play, Doel is supported by the busy nature of the bookshop. This is where we meet the various smaller roles. Jodee Goodwin played Cecily Farr in a suitably genuine and natural way. Cecily was clearly good natured and loved the relationship playing out in the letters between Hanff and Doel. Shelley Goodwin played Megan Wells, who was more outgoing than Cecily, with a hunger to try new things in life. Daniel Curley gave William Humphries a huge amount of character in such a small amount of stage time. A good performer with good comic timing. Michele Moody gave us an elegant Maxine Stuart who contrasted well against the London bookshop and staff; while Jan Irving and Katharine Thomas played Joan and Georgina with ease, and we could see the relationships between the work colleagues and friends. All the cast gave believable performances.

Sharon sustained a good American accent throughout the production; such a tough job. Helen Hanff delivers a series of monologues throughout the show as she has no one to interact with personally. Sharon gave us a variety of emotions as Helen, reacting well to the letters she receives from Doel, or the others in the shop. Sharon was very sincere as Helen, drawing us into her life. Jerry at least has the luxury of his colleagues to interact with, as well as reading the letters from Helen. Jerry gave us a confident ‘gentleman’ for the duration of the show, showing his professionalism through and through but additionally, as we get to know more about his family and life, we see a warmer side to him.

The costumes worked for the piece - Doel with his formal wear, mixed in with the everyday wear of the rest of the staff - compared to the scruffier wear that Helen has. The lighting, I understand from a pre-show announcement, was limited at the particular show I watched due to technical problems. This didn’t detract from the piece at all. The scenery worked, with the limited space available and the props were all suitable for their purpose.

A few wobbles with lines, so some of the moments of tension were broken by the prompt, or pauses that were just a little too long. But with such long letters to ‘read’ it’s not a surprise.

There were some dramatic moments which drew the audience in, and thanks to a great script, we were given time to get to know the characters. The final moments are somewhat predictable but still lovely, and leave the audience thinking ‘carpe diem’!

What a charming and heartwarming production. Congratulations to all involved. 

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