Alter ego

 

We always look forward to coming to see Wickham Bishops Drama Group.  A lovely warm welcome and a great cup of tea by Front of House, is always a welcome on a cool Spring night.

First of all I must congratulate the group on winning the best Pantomime award – ‘Twas the night before Christmas’. A very worthy winner.

For their Spring production they chose “Alter Ego”, a comedy by Tom Casling; not one I have seen before.  I was told by Director, Pauline Roast that for this cast it fitted the bill; it definitely was a hit with the audience.

This charming play has all the elements of a good evening’s entertainment. We meet Richard who is preparing for another interview and getting on his wife Lynne’s nerves with all his questions. She decides to get away for some peace and quiet.  Richard goes out with a friend to calm his nerves, coming home worse for wear, much to the displeasure of his wife. Things go from bad to worse when a number of condolence cards arrive in the post, followed by two undertakers who want to arrange Richards funeral. At the same time his awful mother in law is taking great delight in informing him that he died two weeks ago. Even worse, he and his wife are then arrested for drug-trafficking and possible murder. He subsequently discovers that his wife might have had an affair.

Slow to start in the first half but then starts to move as the plot develops. The second half really flies by with a wonderful poignant talk between Richard and Lynne followed by some hilarious scenes in the police station. A good twist at the end made this show an excellent choice by Pauline Roast.

For such a small cast there is indeed a great deal of talent. Nick Hewes, plays the out of work car salesman, Richard Simpson, a great performance here as he and Lynne, his wife, played by Leigh Perry, have to be on stage virtually throughout. They have a real rapport, working well together. Both have great projection and stage presence. It was not until the show had ended that I was told that they are indeed partners in real life.  This must have helped with rehearsals as they both were word perfect.

The mother in law from hell, who lives next door, was admirably played by Sue Matten, a member for over thirty years. She was very comedic and her facial expressions extremely funny. I loved her outside the police station with her placard, ‘Save the Tiptree two! Good thinking by Pauline the director, for adding local places to the play, which the audience loved.

A small cameo role was played by Charlie Willett, as friend Steven Wright.  Charlie is one of the members that every society wants. A very talented actor, set constructor, props and stage manager.  The set again was superb, constructed by Charlie Willett and Alan Roast; they really did pull all the stops out.  I am in complete admiration that they do all this work for just two performances. Well done.

Now to the delightful funeral directors, this pair worked so well together and I have to say a great choice by Pauline. Mr O’ Donnell  (James Milne) and Mrs Flannery (Debbie Irby) played it perfectly over the top and for me they really raised  the bar with their performances.

DI Stott and Sgt Foster (Ross McTaggart and Leah Harding-Payne) were the bewildered police, interviewing Richard and his wife.  Again this pair worked well together and I enjoyed their performances, especially Sgt Foster’s snorts when she laughed at the inspectors jokes.

The Costumes I am guessing were mainly the actors own but the Funeral directors uniforms were really excellent including the top hats. The costume department never lets this company down.

Lights and sound were appropriate for the play as were the props used.

This group is a really friendly society and it would be so good to see new members joining. I congratulate everyone on a good nights entertainment and look forward to seeing the next production.

Christine Davidson

NODA District 8 Rep

 

 

 

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