Catching The Earlier Bus

I hadn’t heard of this play before but it was well written with lots of comedy for a small cast and ideal for a village setting with limited stage area as it required just the one set. The action takes place in a veterinary reception office where we meet the two receptionists. Judy played by Charlotte Crown has just returned from her holidays and is discussing what she got up to with her colleague Sally (Amy Adams). These are two rather demanding roles as they are onstage throughout the whole of the performance but these two young ladies are excellent and very natural especially whilst they are chatting to each other. One of the partners in the practice is off sick and a locum is brought in to help out. Mr Skarowitz is of Eastern European descent and has, shall we say rather unorthodox methods together with his misinterpreting some of the English language and sayings.  Phil Bailey is extremely funny in this role, never losing his accent but also not overplaying it, so we were able to understand all that he was saying.

As the play progresses, we see clients who have brought in their animals to be seen by the vet. There was some good casting and all these characters were very believable and included Ms Tweedy played by Sandy Broom who promptly faints when her pet is returned. John Cuff captures the character perfectly of the Army Major. Ian Frost plays both Mr Letwin and with a good old Welsh accent for Mr Harris to differentiate the two characters. Miss Fylde is an upper class lady, played by Kate Adams with a terribly posh accent.   We also see Mrs Dixon played by Jo Bailey and last, but not least Mrs Kent played by Karen Tatham.  Due to lots of  amusing confusion  these clients are not quite expecting the outcome after Mr Skarowitz has seen their beloved pets, I shall say no more except it was quite hilarious!

There were some good sound effects emanating from the offstage ‘surgery’, along with some very strange looking handmade pets. The reception room worked well for all the ensuing action and looked very authentic.

Well done to Director Tessa and all her cast and crew. A jolly good evenings entertainment was had by all and included a lovely ploughmans supper served during the interval.

Good to see you all again and thank you for our warm welcome and your hospitality.

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