A Month of Sundays

This production was captivating. On entry I observed few available seats to watch this bittersweet comedy about growing old. It was a professional, polished performance in many respects, directed by Kerry Jones. I was entirely absorbed from the start, right to the end, and, it was a rather late finish.

The setting was in the countryside in a Surrey retirement home. The set design was elaborate with all the action of the play being set in one room, albeit a very large one, which allowed for effective use of space. The lighting was unsophisticated yet indicative of the time of day.

The play revolved around two of the residents, Cooper, (Carl Horton) and Aylott, (Roger Shepherd), who are the best of friends. The bedroom belongs to Cooper, who has a waspish wit and, after a fall, totters around on a damaged leg while refusing to use the walking stick that he has been provided with. He jokes with his friend Aylott, who totally understands Cooper’s frustration and world weary cynism. Cooper is on stage throughout, flirts with the female staff and keeps a close check on his own,” record of physical deterioration.” The two friends behave with wit and humour. Their biggest challenge is the struggle to keep at bay their fears of what awaits them and to not become one of the zombies. These friends spend their days frittering away the time, enjoying banter with the staff, playing games of chess and enjoying the odd tot of whiskey. Cooper remains proud of not having lost his marbles and Aylott is increasingly concerned about losing his. They are looked after by Nurse Wilson (Rachel Holmes), who has a soft spot for Cooper despite his put downs and outrageous flirtation and by Mrs Baker (Kerry Jones), their housekeeper, who enjoys a love hate relationship with irascible Cooper. Cooper is visited on the first Sunday of every month, by his only child, Julia (Esther Horton), and her husband, Peter (Rod Bissett). Julia and Peter do not live close to the nursing home and so their journey is often blighted by roadworks and traffic holdups so that each time they visit they are delayed, and their visiting times are frequently short. Cooper bickers with his daughter whose relationship has been strained by the recent loss of his wife and his relationship with his grandson has also suffered. Cooper feels unloved and seeks solace in his friendship with his friend Aylott. As the two comrades’ health starts to fail, they realise that their friendship and Cooper’s relationship with his family, evolves and changes to an emotional, thought-provoking ending.

Carl Horton played Cooper brilliantly throughout, phenomenal. It is an intensive role, as Cooper is on stage for the whole play. He acted as both engaged narrator and as the resident in this retirement home. He delivered his lines with ease, and animated gesture, not faltering in the slightest with his compelling characterisation. His portrayal of an aging man was notable when we see him shuffling around the room showing physical limitations. Roger Shepherd’s portrayal of the very likeable and reassuring friend, Aylott was heart-warming. He played this part seemingly so naturally, a fine actor indeed. Rachel Holmes was perfectly lovely as Nurse Wilson, and her relationship with crotchety Cooper was well crafted with a great deal of empathy between the characters, their interactions showed tenderness and care. Kerry Jones, stood in as Mrs Baker for this performance. Holding a script in her hand did not detract from the quality characterisation or hamper the fluidity of the scenes she was in. She maintained the desired brightness in the role with a lot of animation and fun spirit. Esther Horton was superb as Julia, effectively showing a composite of duty, affection and irritation in her voice tone and body language. Rod Bissett, as Peter, Julia’s long-suffering husband, provided strong support in this gentle comedy.

The entire production was directed by Kerry Jones with great sensitivity and perfect timing with some memorable performances from the small but talented cast. It was a triumph, showing amateur theatre at its best.

 

 

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