Blue Remembered Hills

Memories of childhood, scuffed knees, climbing trees, playing camps in the woods on long hot summer afternoons are all evoked by this Dennis Potter 1979 penning. However his children are from a much earlier time and the Forest of Dean is the setting for Nettie Sheridan and Gary Cook’s production of Blue Remembered Hills.

A seven hander, the play follows the lives of mid-war [1943] children as they find their place in a hierarchy of bullying that, as adults, I believe we block out ever happening in our lives. In this we are invited to be introspective and perhaps reflective of our own childhood and this was clearly Potter's intention. However it would not be possible without a cast of convicted and committed players defying you to suspend belief that they are adults playing children. A sure sign that this has been achieved is how quickly the audience forgets and accepts the cast as children.

In the case of David Ralfe, Kate Stoner, Steve Martin, Tobias Clay, Bea Mitchell-Turner, Andrew Wesby and Andy Bell, this happened within the first few minutes. I am not going to single out any performer as this is truly an ensemble piece and each is vital to the telling of the story. Suffice to say that each delivered a compelling and fully believable character with diversity and nuance that inspired investment from us the viewing audience. The superb delivery was supported by excellent production values in scenic creativity [Martin Oakley] and technical slickness which seemed to include smells as well as visual and aural stimulus, but perhaps that was just imagined.

Potter would have been pleased with the intentionally light-hearted treatment of his dark and disturbing piece, with only the climactic disaster being played with realisation from the characters at their part in the death of one of their peers and associated reflection on the human condition.  This production was a captivating and worthy entry into the BHAC awards.

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