Another Shambles

Pilling Drama Group presented 'Another Shambles' at Knott End Library. The group had already performed the production at Pilling Village Hall, but had chosen to bring it to the library as well so that local people who prefer not to drive could still come along and enjoy the show. I thought that was a very thoughtful approach and one that says a great deal about the society’s connection to its community. This was described as an evening of two one act plays written by members of the society, although in practice the first half was made up of three shorter pieces, followed after the interval by one longer play. It made for a varied evening and gave members the opportunity to showcase their writing as well as their performance. 

The first piece, 'The Mystery Tour' by Christine Davies, featured John Savage, Kath Galley, Christine Davies, Linda Bee, Ian Sharpe and Jess Mangle, and was produced by Jenny Blyth. The story followed three women who found themselves apparently lost in the woods after joining a mystery tour, although none of them could remember exactly how or when they had got off the coach. Their confusion deepened when a passing cyclist seemed not to notice them at all, and when the coach driver appeared, equally unsure of what had happened, the mystery grew. The detail of their watches all having stopped at different times was a good touch, and the eventual revelation, that they had in fact died in a coach crash after the driver had suffered a heart attack, came as a surprise to the audience. This was a clever idea and an imaginative twist. The use of the prompt was noticeable at times, which interrupted the flow a little, but the writing itself was strong and the ending landed well. The cast worked together well and there was a natural sense of connection between them which helped carry the piece.

The second short piece, 'Radio Mix Up', also written by Christine Davies, was a clever idea and worked well. A lone woman (Jess Mangnall) on stage, in front of an old fashioned radio, tried to tune in to the shipping forecast. As she adjusted the knobs, the audience heard a pre recorded mixture of radio broadcasts which combined to create a comic sequence. This was well imagined, and the way the different broadcasts came together created a piece that was witty, original and enjoyable.

The third part of the first half, Cricket from Lords by John Savage, featured John Savage and Ian Sharpe seated behind a desk as though presenting a radio broadcast about a cricket match. The joke, of course, was that Lords was not the famous cricket ground at all, but the family name of those playing in the garden. This was another piece with a simple but effective comic idea behind it, and it was delivered in a way that the audience clearly enjoyed. John Savage and Ian Sharpe worked well together, and their easy chemistry added to the humour of the sketch.

After the interval came the longer work, That Old Black Magic by Andrea McPhail, featuring Christine Davies, Linda Bee and Yvonne Clavin. This was the story of an unhappy wife whose magician husband had gone missing. Faced with debt and hoping to claim on his insurance, she persuaded her friend to step into his place for an evening performance, with herself acting as assistant, so that they could at least collect the fee. As they rehearsed the illusion involving the sawing a person in half trick, they discovered the husband inside the box and believed they had killed him. What followed was a comic exchange as the women tried to work out what to do next, particularly as a loan shark had already threatened to cut them into little pieces if the debt was not paid. The final twist, that the husband had already been killed and placed in the box by the loan shark, brought the story to a neat conclusion. This was a lively idea for a play and gave the performers plenty to work with. The actors played off each other well, and it was clear from their performances that they were enjoying the material, which helped the audience do the same.

The technical support helped the evening along well. Barbara Soar worked as prompt, Rachelle Savage provided lighting, and Anne Havill supplied music, sound effects and recordings. Given the performance space in the middle of a library, the set had to be simple, but it was arranged sensibly for the venue and the lighting and sound helped support the various pieces.  

What came across during the evening was the society’s commitment to giving its members the chance to perform and present new writing to an audience. This was a community production, and that connection with its audience was evident throughout. The audience responded warmly, enjoying the humour and the writing.  Overall, Another Shambles offered an enjoyable showcase of original work by members of Pilling Players. It was good to see a small society continuing to create opportunities for performance, to support local writing, and to bring theatre to its community in an accessible way. That in itself is something worth valuing, and the audience’s response showed that the effort was well received.

 

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