A Victorian Romp

This was in fact three productions for the price of one. 

'Cox & Box' with music by Sullivan but the lyrics were written by F.C. Burnand.  This short operetta tells us about two dishonest house keepers, played by Malcolm St. John-Hammond and Liz Ellison and their two tenants, Mr. Cox (Adrian Davies-Ratcliffe and Mr. Box (Gary Gentle) who share the same apartment one during the day and the other during the night.  They do not know this and have never met each other until a chance meeting brings them together.  This was cleverly put together and the four actors worked well together.  The small corner which made up the set was well constructed with the two doors seeing most of the comings and goings.

In the second half of this programme we were treated to 'Trial by Jury' which showed the talents of seven members of the company.  The learned Judge was played by Bryan Till who gave a first rate performance and was well supported by Ruth Shelley as The Plaintiff and Liam Simkins (also the company’s Musical Director) as The Defendant with Sue Rogers as The Counsel and Michael Taylor as the Foreman of the Jury.  This piece moved along with some pace which included some good chorus work and harmonies.

The final part of this production was an Old Time Music Hall, in which the audience also had the chance to sing along.  Conductor Brian Hirst acted as Master of Ceremonies for this section.  Again some outstanding solos from members of the society and good chorus work.  

Producer Pam Robinson must be proud of the company who worked very hard to stage three shows in one

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