All Things Bright and Beautiful

All Things Bright and Beautiful- The Windmill Players- 19.10.2019

 

 

    This play, first produced in London, at The Phoenix Theatre, in 1962, was written by the prolific playwrights Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall.

  The established Company, The Windmill Players, had decided to bring this lesser known play to local audiences and judging by audience numbers, it was a wise decision.

The comedy set in the 60’s was a very real account of a period of time when many families faced the prospect of being rehoused and being promised a whole new future as they moved from the slums to newly built housing estates.

We were immediately aware of the atmosphere of the piece as we settled into our seats where an open set depicted the kitchen/dining room of a house with a backdrop of a skyline of rooftops of the adjoining street. At the stage left were two outside “privies”, typical of the time. This was a very well designed and constructed set by Ian Flynn, David Thompson, Alan Waterfield and Peter Brown who are to be congratulated for their obvious skills in recreating the basic essentials

The set was very well dressed and well researched, reflecting the poverty of the family, where a curtain was used as a larder and the furniture was a mismatch of  items.

The play opened as Deanne Hesseltine ( Emma Davies) and her boyfriend Desmond Cooper, ( Mark Bowman) were saying goodnight in the “backyard”. Among the many outstanding performances I must congratulate Denise Flynn as Queenie Hesseltine who gave a memorable portrayal of the mother. Emma was particularly convincing as the elder daughter who helped to run the household. As the story unfolded we were introduced to many well-defined characters who were really believable. This was due to, not only the writing skills of authors Waterhouse and Willis, but also to the excellent characterisations by the entire cast. Angela Hudson, Director, has brought out the very best from her talented cast showing the dysfunctional Hesseltines, a reflection of many families at that time, who all looked forward to a better future whilst trying to make ends meet. 

 I have lived through that particular period and Angela has evoked many memories for me.

This was another most enjoyable evening with this very talented Company. Thank you for the warm welcome to my wife and myself.

 

 

 

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