A: Failed Investments B: Lockdown in LIttle Grimley

A: Failed Investments by Lynn Brittney

The premise of the play is that a meeting of residents of a block of flats is being held in the flat shared by Anne and Carol to discuss the increase in ground rents being proposed by the landlord. Anne (strongly played by Lizzi Pearce) is divorcing her philandering husband Roger and has been forced to take in Carol (a lesbian office worker sympathetically played by Yazmine Constable) as a flatmate to make ends meet. They are joined at the meeting by Margaret (beautifully played by Heather Hatch), who is there to represent her recently come-out gay son and by Judith (well played by Naomi Dunbar) a housewife and mother suppressed by her domineering husband. As the evening progresses - and the wine flows – each of the characters reveals how they feel about the male-orientated society – an adulterous husband, overbearing father, gay son and domineering husband – and they realise they are seen as “failed investments” by the men-folk and express how they will redress the situations. The actors portrayed the characters really well and you could judge from the audience reactions that they recognised the characters from themselves or from others they knew in present day society. The subject may appear to be relatively dark but the play has much humour in it. Well done ladies on delivering a thought provoking but entertaining piece.

B: Lockdown in Little Grimley by David Tristram

This play in the “Little Grimley” series is set during the COVID 19 lockdown period. The under resourced drama club is struggling with low membership, small audiences and financial pressures – a situation many of us in the amateur theatrical world will be familiar with and can sympathise with. Gordon the chairman, played by Andrew Hewett with just the right mix of forcefulness and bumbling, has called a meeting to discuss his ideas for their next production. Attending the meeting are the mischievous Bernard (well played by John Clifford), Joyce the put upon Secretary and tea-maker (played by Jacqui Graham) and self-styled and socially ambitious leading lady Margaret (beautifully played by flame-haired Heather Hatch). I don’t know if it was deliberate or not but the characters Heather played in both plays were called Margaret and both were played with the same accent and mannerisms creating a link between the two plays. Gordon’s idea is to put on a play about the NHS and donating the profits to the NHS thus gaining the audiences support. During rehearsals fiction becomes fact when Bernard collapses with pains in his chest and his carried off to hospital – however the pains are diagnosed as severe heartburn and he returns to the group. The use of running gags based on the shortage of toilet rolls and the popularity of banana bread were well spotted by the audience and hugely appreciated. Again the audience were able to recognise characters from their own lives during this period and reacted accordingly. Congratulations to the cast on delivering such entertaining performances.

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