Bad Reception

Many thanks to Across the Boards for inviting me along to watch their one act play Bad Reception on 1st July 2023. This was an intimate performance for a small gathering of friends and family but the performances by the three girls involved were anything but small! Bad Reception is set in a school reception office which the girls are tasked with manning for the morning. On a whim, one of the girls pretends to be the Headmistress when answering the phone, setting up a chain of events that spins out of control. The original play was written by Paul Vincent but Anna Cross had done an excellent job of adapting it so the three main characters and dialogue suited the actresses involved, which worked very well. As all the action takes place in the school office, with a little simultaneous external action depicting both sides of telephone calls, only a very basic set is required so this play was well suited to the chosen venue. 

The girls played multiple characters and made use of simple screens at each side of the hall to make quick, minimal costumes changes as required such as the addition of hat and glasses or a long coat for example. These basic additions/alterations were all that were required because the girls did a fantastic job of altering their characters, making it clear for the audience that they were portraying different people rather than simply donning additions to their main costumes of a school uniform: posture, gait, voice and mannerisms were all adapted appropriately and this was impressive to see from such young performers.

The play was clearly thoroughly rehearsed and the girls were confident throughout – with only three of them involved, there was no chance for any of them to slip out of character without being noticed and I’m pleased to say this never happened. Even when their character wasn’t part of the action, they each kept themselves looking busy and engaged with their surroundings or with what the other characters were doing.

From the moment Lola Connor-Emmott stepped out onto set as Penelope, I knew we were in for a treat as she was totally invested in her character and elicited laughs from the audience almost immediately. Everything about her movements and dialogue delivery clearly portrayed the character she wholeheartedly embodied. She is a strong character actress and this was perfectly demonstrated by her swift transformation from geeky schoolgirl prefect to surly male delivery driver, all with the addition of only a beanie hat and a pair of sunglasses. This was a very funny moment and the new character was instantly recognisable – brilliantly done! 

Amelia Holloway played Kayleigh, a self-confident and much more laid back character with little appreciation for rules and processes, who has little time for Penelope and so isn’t thrilled to discover she is on reception duty with her. A quick addition of a trench coat saw Amelia transform herself into an irate parent trying to make a complaint over the phone to the Headmistress. Amelia is an actress with a maturity beyond her 12 years and she did a great job of maintaining her different characters throughout, especially when she was put on hold on the phone for quite a while! She also kept up the pretence of sorting mail etc when not directly involved in the dialogue which wasn’t easy with the minimal set and props. I enjoyed the way her character related differently to each of the other two giving a clear indication of her feeling towards them.

Holly Cross completed the cast playing Alisha, a rebellious pupil full of teenage attitude who very clearly did not want to be on reception duty! Holly stomped, slumped, huffed and puffed her way around the performance space brilliantly and delivered some fantastic stroppy one-liners with a deadpan expression. I enjoyed the way Holly subtly reacted to the action between the other two characters with simple eye rolls, head shakes etc so she was clearly engaged without drawing attention away from the main dialogue.

Anna Cross operated the sound effects and I must just mention how accurately these were timed. Her direction and adaptation were perfect for this cast – an excellent job, well done!

My guest and I thoroughly enjoyed this play and did plenty of laughing throughout it. My guest commented on the way each girl had such a strong characterisation from the moment we saw them and I couldn’t agree more. This really was a well-executed piece of theatre and all three girls should be very proud of their efforts. Thanks again for the invitation and I look forward to seeing next year’s pantomime.

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