Be My Baby

Be My Baby was staged by All Saints Elton Theatre Company at All Saints House. The stage area is very compact and had been visually divided by pieces of set into two separate rooms. The play consists of four different rooms - Matron`s office was a permanent fixture, Mary`s bedroom altered slightly to become the dormitory and a clothes maiden was brought to the front of the stage to signify being in the laundry room.  At the end of a scene if the actor wasn’t required in the next scene they exited down the middle of the audience - personally I found that quite distracting as they also had to re-enter that way when they were next needed on stage. The pace of the play was definitely slowed down with all the long blackouts, it felt very stilted to me with a distinct lack of flow. Costumes were generally fine, but personally I did feel that Matron was missing her cap and nursing buckle. The sound by Andy Milthorpe was consistently good throughout and all the musical inserts slotted in in time, the lighting by Rebecca Foster was sympathetic to the scenes.

Grace Young as Norma portrayed the inner turmoil and emotional unravelling with full commitment, Charlotte Crowley delivered Dolores`s innocence and childlike naivity beautifully. Anji Barrett-Chalk showed us the world weary side of Queenie and when she finally broke down about having had a baby previously she showed us all her inner demons and worries that her slightly rough exterior usually hid. Reagan Paterson as Mary Adams had some strong scenes with Amanda Kenyon (Mrs. Adams) there was a distinct generation gap depicted and we got a great sense of the era. Reagan had some lovely clear diction and her scene pace was good.  Laura Thompson played Matron, she connected well with the audience and diction was clear.

Thank you for inviting me. I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

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