Ben Hur

Director Jane Kyte-Hunt and assistant director Matthew Jones must be congratulated for directing a brilliant and very hilarious production, with an excellent cast. 

Just four actors played a multitude of characters, too many to mention them all. Changing accents, characterizations, costumes and wigs, along with all these changes so did the plot, the timing was incredible. The cast were superb, with every member giving a truly first class and very professional performance. 

The casting could not have been better; Kieran Lowe as Daniel Veil, who plays several characters including Ben Hur, the eponymous hero (and breaks in and out of the characters) was excellent. He and his fellow performers understood the prime rule of comic acting, often forgotten on the amateur stage: funny people don’t know they’re funny; that’s what makes them so funny. Playing the other characters were Ben Perkins as Omar Lord, including an additional eight characters. Terry Cole as Edgar T Chesterfield and seven other characters gave a wonderfully surreal portrayal of author General Lew Wallace. Claire Lloyd as Crystal Singer with eight other characters to perform. The pace of the dialogue and diction was excellent all the way through the production. The cast were very confident with roles, no matter which character they were performing. Brilliant performances from these four actors.   

The props, lighting and sound were well thought out, and made good use of the small stage. There were a couple of opening night mishaps with props, but the stage crew did well to keep a piece of set dressing held up discreetly throughout one scene. The chariot race was well thought out and with the audience participation in simultaneously playing galley slaves and slavedrivers, battling on the high seas, made this a fun packed evening and a good night’s entertainment.  

Praise should also go to the wardrobe team and backstage crew who had to work like Trojans to ensure that the cast had the correct costumes on at the right time. I must also mention the program I received, it was very creative and in tune with the show. 

Congratulations to everyone involved in this production, which had the audience laughing, even though the audience was a little reserved. Thank you to Theatre At Baddow for a great evening and hospitality. 

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