A Better You

With a new play, the initial dialogue is particularly important, not just to set the scene, but to get the audience into the mode of the writing. With the difficult acoustics in the Guildhall, this was especially important. The opening sequence in experienced hands was vital. What is the answer to the problems of the Guildhall?  In particular, in this case, the amplification was pretty well handled, but frequently boomed when trying to pick up voices from upstage and certainly enhanced the movement of the shoes. Has some matting be considered? Additonal small speakers down the hall? The intension of the wooden staging to amplify the sound acts against the actors’ intentions. The naturalism of the difficult dialogue was well handled by the cast but, at times, at the cost of audibility. The old fashioned throwing of the voice would not be appropriate here, but audibility and annunciation needed further work.

The minimal set worked extremely well, with the notices in the corridor, flapping in the draught and Her Majesty looking down on proceedings. Of course, the requirement for the lavatories to be directly off the hall was dominant, but with so much action coming and going from them it was well handled: enabling more space in the wing for the wheelchair. The operation of these doors went well despite their opening downstage – slightly odd but it worked with the black hole behind.  Positioning of furniture was dictated by the operation of the wheelchair and yet it didn’t seem too distorted.

The characters were clearly defined and the actors had assimilated them well.  Characterisation developed the humour: there were certainly a varied group of people in this play. Clearly the actors enjoyed developing their roles and maintained them consistently despite their eccentricities. The general movement worked well, retaining the natural feel, but once or twice people fell over each other and although in life we do this, on stage the audience expects things to be a little better organised. Once or twice characters with principal lines disappeared behind the 'A' frame. There was a mysterious crossover when the girls passed Cathy-Anne in the doorway with no recognition. This may all have been the result of the complications of the dialogue and of the actors’ attempts to keep things flowing, but it did you no favours.

This highlighted the slight lack of continuity in the script. There were definitely points at which even the most exceptional acting could not hide the inconsistencies and dialogue came to a halt. The assistance of the prompt was as the title suggests, prompt, and actors quickly took up the baton without a hitch.  Fortunately, in the hands of this well-bonded cast, these moments became part of the whole bizarre nature of the proceedings. There were some fine individual portrayals, but the obvious thing was the teamwork between the actors. Everyone knew their part in proceedings and enjoyed other’s contributions.

Although not the best play, it certainly needs revision, ADC had dragged out every ounce of fun. The audience thoroughly enjoyed the fun and accepted the rather contrived story-line. The commitment to the script was commendable and therefore thoroughly entertaining. Production details and technicals had been well planned and organised and therefore everything ran remarkably smoothly. A most enjoyable evening.

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