Campfire's burning

Campfire’s Burning was one of the one act plays directed by Tanja Carnell.

The first thing that struck me was the set it was very thought out with the two tents, Monty and Ruth’s bigger than Debbie and Shirley’s, this was a good symbol showing that Monty and Ruth had done this before and had more experience.

Monty was played by Paul Matthews, Ruth by Pam Murphy and their son Tarquin played by Alfie Bennett.  Pam showed how Ruth felt with tiny little gestures with her eyes showing that she did not want to go on the family walk and that she potentially was not happy.  Paul gave Monty authority; however, it would have been nice to have seen more frustration in his body and voice when Tarquin did not want to go on the walk.  Alfie showed the audience how much Tarquin did not want to do what his father had in mind, and he gave Tarquin a softer side when he was talking to Debbie.

Debbie and Shirley were played by Krystel Howard and Louise Davey.  I liked the dynamic they gave the relationship between the two ladies, Shirley being the more confident of the two.  Krystel gave Debbie a softer side that contrasted well with Shirley.

I felt that all the actors gave each character something different, which helped the piece flow, and the set also helped the pace of play.

The evening ended with several of the CDS membership putting on an 80’s mega-mix.  It was a lovely way to include more people, sometimes though less is more maybe there was one too many numbers, however it was inclusive and signing in “It’s raining men” was a wonderful addition.

Thank you to Cheshunt Dramatic Society for a lovely evening

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