Blue Remembered Hills

The work of Playwright, Dennis Potter was always controversial and thought provoking and this 1979 play “Blue Remembered Hills” was one of his more popular pieces. It is being studied as a set book for this year’s G.C.S.E. Drama examinations and it was interesting that one of the students studying the play felt it would be a good opportunity to showcase the dramatic talents of R.A.T.S. This proved very popular box office, with sold out notices posted on the door. The atmosphere of the play was immediately created on entering the hall, where three playing areas were visible. The Stage, depicting the woods, The Barn and The Grassy Knoll on the floor of the hall. The proximity of the audience to these spaces helped to create the necessary ambiance. The sound and lighting were extremely evocative helping to immerse us fully into the dramatic action and we soon became completely involved with the emotional roller coaster of events, both comic and tragic This piece depicting a hot Summer’s day in 1943 with a group of children playing what appeared to be innocent games, was sensitively handled and under the imaginatively staged direction of David Procter and Producer, William Thomas, gave us a very entertaining evening of theatre. All on stage were adults playing the roles as children. They were very convincing and worked well together with some very physically demanding performances particularly John Royle as Willy and Tony Woolmington as Peter. Costumes and Props were excellent and it was interesting to see the 1940’s dolls pram which I believe was difficult to find. Well done! We were left with very mixed feelings at the conclusion of this nostalgic play, with much to ponder as we made our way home. Congratulations on a fascinating evening and thank you for your very warm welcome.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.