Arsenic and Old Lace

Award winning Congleton Players produced the play Arsenic and Old Lace this week at The Daneside Theatre.  Originally a play, set in 1941, it was turned into a film starring Carey Grant and Jean Adair.  I can see how this would work as a film but certainly can’t see how it works as a play.  If (Author) Joseph Kesselring wasn’t suffering from a mental illness or in some kind of Psychedelic drug haze when he wrote this play, then I fear for his sanity!  This black comedy is anything but funny.  This play is too long, too wordy and just not entertaining.  I really felt for the actors involved in this production as I have seen some of their body of work and have been impressed.  This play, and this version of the play didn’t leave much to the imagination and left me wanted so much more.  For me, there were various issues with directorial decisions.  Allowing the character of Martha Brewster to speak in such a high-pitched voice meant that it was very hard to hear the dialogue.  Allowing the character of Jonathan Brewster to talk in a low voice, which made it very hard to hear, was also a strange decision.  The accents from some of the cast, particularly Officer Brophy was woeful.  Others were not great at sustaining an American accent the whole way through the play.  Lots of the actors devoiced at the end of sentences or had really lazy diction.  There were various points in this play, particularly the Police Officers, when the actors were talking upstage.  I also felt that the staging of the downstage chair was placed too close to the front door which impacted on some of the staging, particularly in the second act.  The major flaw that this play suffered from was the pace!  It felt very slow and, at times, my guest and I were bored.  There were, of course, many lighter moments and moments that were clever.  I really enjoyed some of the more eccentric characters and the moments of physical comedy with the window box.  I felt that the lighting and sound cues were very well rehearsed, and the setting of the whole piece really worked too.  Having multiple doors enabled the use of various entrances and exits which was used to good effect.  I also loved the staging of the bows, from various entrances and exits too which added to the comedic effect.  Overall, for me, this play was a miss, rather than a hit but I fear that this is more down to the play itself rather than the society or the actors.

The set was great and very well designed.  I loved the use of multiple entrances and exits, which were used greatly throughout this play.  If I’m being picky, I would’ve preferred to have seen a wall or something behind the cellar and kitchen doors, rather than a black cloth, but this is just an observation.  Overall, the set really helped establish location and the style for this play.

The costumes were okay.  I wasn’t particularly impressed with some of the colours used for the Brewster sisters as I felt they were a little garish.  The character of Jonathan wore trainers on his feet and some of the Police Officers were wearing skinny trousers which wasn’t in keeping with the time period.  The costumes worn by Teddy looked great and really stood out.  I also loved the styling of Elaine Harper – who looked great.

Lighting and sound were also good.  I love the fact that this play had microphones as most played are not miked.  I doubt most of the ‘older’ audience would’ve heard lots of the dialogue if it wasn’t miked as it was already a struggle at times.  Ii loved the lighting cues which were executed perfectly.

Cherryll Topham played the role of Abby Brewster.  I really enjoyed Cherryll’s eccentric character and I believed her characterisation.  She also had a great rapport with her sister Martha.  Their choral speaking helped add to the overall comedy.  Cherryll is a great actress with amazing stage presence.  I really enjoyed her performance in this piece.

Ria Green played the role of Martha Brewster.  Making her stage debut, this was a brilliant showcase for Ria’s (obvious) talent.  I really didn’t like the choice of using such a high-pitched voice but loved the physicality that Ria brought to the character -with her little shuffles.  If this is the standard of Ria’s debut, then it bodes well for future performances.

Adrain Grace played the role of the sane Brewster brother Mortimer.  Adrain was one of the highlights for me in this piece.  He did well to tell his story and his accent was excellent.  Adrain also had some lovely moments in the script and brought and much needed pace to the scenes.  I felt that Mortimer wasn’t in love with Elaine enough so didn’t know if that was down to direction or script.  Despite this, I was impressed with Adrain’s storytelling and overall performance.

Teddy Brewster was played by Daniel Wood.  I really enjoyed Daniel’s performance and felt that he brought much needed energy and comedy to each scene.  He was delightful to watch and gave a lovely performance.  He made the script come to life!

Sam Curwen played the roles of Dr Harper and Lieutenant Rooney.  For me, Sam was often talking upstage and lacked depth of character.  He also looked a little unsure onstage which distracted from his Police officer character.

Ryan Williamson and Judith Butcher played the roles of Officers (Brophy & Klein) respectively.  Ryan used an ‘Irish’ accent which was embarrassing.  He also looked very uncomfortable onstage and broke the fourth wall on a few occasions.  Judith was the stronger of the two but couldn’t sustain her American accent throughout. 

Rachel Brandreth-Wood looked the part as Elaine Harper, Mortimer’s love interest.  Whilst I didn’t believe that Elaine and Mortimer were in love, I enjoyed the performance that Rachel gave.  I felt that she was committed to her role and took risks with her character.  There were times when Elaine is onstage watching the action for long periods of time (which I feel is a major mistake with the writing), but I commend Rachel for staying in character throughout these long periods – it didn’t go unnoticed. 

Simon Hoffman played the role of the deranged brother, Jonathan Brewster.  Simon played the character like he was a robot or some kind of mysterious psychopath and it REALLY didn’t work!  He devoiced at the end of sentences and spoke in a tone that was so low that we lost lots of dialogue.  He also broke the fourth wall on numerous occasions.  A cringy performance for me that lies with both the actor and the director for allowing this to happen.

Jonathan’s sidekick/lover, Dr Einstein, was played by Danny Gilman.  I loved Danny’s commitment to this role.  He was suitably eccentric and brought a much-needed pace to every singe scene he was in.  I also enjoyed the use of voice that Danny had – he was entertaining to watch.  The character is a little two-dimensional.  It might’ve nice to see why Dr Einstein was the was the way he was a little more.

I enjoyed the performances from Chris Sheard and Howard Ball.  Although smaller roles, they were believable and sweet and enjoyable to watch.  Officer O’ Hara was played by James Swinnerton.  James looked uncomfortable and unassured and this showed in his performance.  I have no doubt though that James has lots of potential and the more that he does on stage, the more his confidence will grow. 

Overall, I really didn’t find this play entertaining or remotely funny.  For me, it severely lacked pace and comedic moments.  There were some stage decisions which sadly, for me, didn’t pan out.  I have no desire to see this play again which isn’t a reflection on these actors.  Visually and technically it was strong but sadly the script and the storytelling made it feel like a laborious night at the theatre.

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