Accidental Death of an Anarchist

Frodsham Players made a welcome return to the stage for their production of Dario Fo’s ‘Accidental Death of an Anarchist’. This was directed by Jane Barrie, a newcomer to the group, who had a clear, strong vision for the production. The general direction from Jane was good, with the cast showing confidence in it. From the stylised movements of the opening to the complete madness at the end, there was much to like throughout. There were some moments that could have been explored further, such as the incoherent whispering, which was very funny. This would have worked very well with the phone call conversations, further adding to the absurd nature of the piece and pushing the comedy. The cast completely threw themselves into everything, showing no inhibitions. All the cast showed great stage awareness, which was crucial to a play such as this. Delivering a lengthy and wordy script is always going to be challenging, but the cast did well performing it and keeping the pace up, which is crucial in a comedy such as this. Unfortunately, the music from the live band slowed the overall pace of the production down, with the cast working hard to build the pace up in subsequent scenes. The music needed to be louder and more in your face; it needed more anarchy!

The staging of the production was good, using the floor as Bertozzo’s office and the stage as Sports Jacket’s office. The use of bright colours really juxtaposed against the serious message of the play, messing with the minds of the audience, just like The Maniac does throughout. The level of attention to detail with the brightly coloured furniture and props was very good. Everything on the stage fit into the concept that Jane had for the production. Costumes were similarly bright and garish, again fitting in with Jane’s overall concept.

Technical elements were simple throughout. The two sound effects used in the performance were cued on time. Lighting was a general wash, which covered both playing spaces. The musicians were lit appropriately for their songs. The sound levels for the band were also good.

Andrew Rauer played The Maniac. This is a challenging role for anyone to undertake and Andrew did well with it. He flipped from each character created with ease, creating a good character for each persona. There was an uneasiness to the character, which was great – you never knew if you were meant to be rooting for The Maniac or not, which was down to Andrew’s great performance.

Ben Greenall delivered a good supporting role as Inspector Bertozzo. Ben was able to show the frustrations of the character convincingly, especially near the conclusion of the play. Ben delivered the physical aspects of the part very well indeed, with the numerous punches and kicks to the body.

Elliot Bailey delivered a standout performance as Inspector Sports Jacket. Elliot’s physical comedy was great, especially when slipping on the glass eye. His sense of comedy was very good as well, with good line delivery and interactions with the cast. Elliot was always reacting to what was happening on stage, and your eye was drawn to him constantly.

Emily Duffy gave a strong performance as the Superintendent. Emily had great stage awareness, discretely moving furniture into the correct position, asking for the door to be closed for the next set piece whilst in character. Her stage presence was very good, suiting the character well. She had a great sense of authority, which slowly started to unravel as the play went on.

Carol Crooks played Journalist Maria Felitti. Although a bit tentative with her lines, Carol delivered a good performance as the journalist who becomes unwillingly involved with The Maniac’s plan.

Sue Southern and Martina Keith-Stewart were a good double-act as Constable One and Two. They were both on stage for the majority of the performance and never lost character. They were both invested in the action on stage, reacting to what has happening accordingly, adding to the comedy. The facial reactions from both Sue and Martina were very good.

Overall, this was a good production. The performances were strong, the staging was good, and the director’s vision was clearly realised.

A big thank you to everyone at Frodsham Players for their kind invite and their hospitality.

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