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Black-Adder II

Author: Vicki Avery

Information

Date
13th May 2022
Society
Digswell Players
Venue
Digswell Village Hall
Type of Production
Play
Director
Tim Palmer

It was lovely to be back to see The Digswell Players performing after three long years. As always, a warm welcome greeted me from the FOH staff, and nothing was too much trouble. It is always difficult to re-enact an iconic show with such well known characters and it was with some trepidation that I wondered how the company would achieve this. However, I need not have worried as the actors all did a great job of portraying each character without mimicking them.

All the other roles were brought to life by a very talented set of actors who obviously had great fun in portraying these absurd set of characters.

The play follows Blackadder as a courtier attempting to win the Queens favour whilst avoiding having his head cut off. When I read that cast list, I knew I was in for a wonderful evening! Tim Palmer, first time director, had assembled a talented and enthusiastic cast who were well rehearsed and as soon as the curtains opened, were ready to give it their all, which was so very much appreciated by the society’s loyal supporters! 

Without knowing for certain, I would suggest that one of the biggest challenges in staging this play, was how to comfortably jump between the many short scenes without disrupting the flow of the play!  Digswell achieved this by setting up three distinct areas … BlackAdder’s house, The Throne Room and a third generic area which, by using lighting to depict the area being used, this allowed the action to flow and slip between scenes smoothly without too much interruption for the audience. This worked well and although we did have one- or two-timing issues with some of the lighting cues, this did not affect the overall flow of the performance.

Neil Harrison and his portrayal of ‘Edmund BlackAdder’!  was a perfect fit for this actor. Never out of character, he had a powerful presence on stage, looked the part in a superb costume and all this made the role appear far easier that it undoubtedly was!  I was most impressed with his projection and diction. 

Andrew Read portrayed BlackAdder’s somewhat dim-witted, slow manservant Baldrick with effortless ease!  Great casting!  Andrew had wonderful stage presence and oozed comic timing!  Energy driven, great facial expressions and mannerisms all of which added to what was a great performance… job well done!  

Arun Setty took on the role of Lord Percy, a gullible, naïve, and very snobbish associate of BlackAdder. Arun looked quite at ease with the role, with good comic timing and never out of character. Slow down the dialogue a little so that we can enjoy every moment.

Ruth Johnson was Queen Elizabeth I… affectionally known as ‘Queenie’.  Again, slotted into this role with ‘effortless ease’; another that ‘oozed’ stage presence, never out of character, she worked well with her two close companions Lord Melchett (Nick Portalski) and Nursie (Mary Goodfellow) She made this part her own. 

Nursie, played by Mary Goodfellow excelled in this character. She brought out the eccentric nature of the character and made it her own with excellent chemistry between her and the Queen with lots of humour, for me, perfect casting. 

 Nick Portalski as Lord Melchett delivered a confident performance as this pompous character with ease. 

Alfie Hart delivered a great performance as the irresistible sex object, Lord Flashheart. It is such a shame that this character was initially only written in as a cameo role in the first series, but none the less a great entertaining performance from Alfie. 

Emma Gilby gave a first-class performance in the thigh slapping form as Kate / Bob, Emma delivered her character with ease and confidence. Well done.

Emma’s stage father was played by Peter Holt; whilst only a cameo role, Peter had some great lines and certainly charmed the audience especially when he expected Kate to become a prostitute and go on the game. 

There were several cameo roles all of whom performed to a high standard adding to the layers of comedy which accumulated in a vivid mix of wild and idiotic characters adding colour and madness to the production.

Props, makeup and in particular costumes were all perfect and just what the audience expected. There was great attention to detail given, which both I and all the audience appreciated on Friday evening. Congratulations to you all. A great night out.

Please thank everyone for your hospitality, for looking after John and I and providing me with a parking space.

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