Cheshire Cats

Cheshire Cats, written by Gail Young,  tells the story of a group of women as they train to take part in the Moonwalk in london, to waist awareness and raise money for Breast Cancer. Each woman has their own reasons behind wanting to take part in the walk, be that to support a charity or to enjoy a girls weekend away, without men!  

The main five ladies performed with enthusiasm and great characterisations, and delivered vast array of emotions. The always impressive Trudy Panting was truly outstanding as Hilary, the self appointed leader of the group. Trudy does both comedy and drama to the highest standard and I was truly blown away and captivated by her performance. Hilary’s best friend, Siobhan, was played by Catherine Mininis. Catherine’s performance was one that I would describe as ‘real’. Catherine took the character and made her a well rounded, real life character, which is exactly what I like to see when visiting the theatre. Karen Plant,  portrayed Yvonne and gave us a comedy masterclass. Her one liners were delivered in such a way that the audience soon fell in love with her. I do hope she learnt her lesson and has bedded  in those trainers. Maggie, played by Eleanor Dixon, is the new girl in the group and gave a very powerful performance, particularly at the end of the piece, which moved all members of the audience. Completing the Cheshire Cats was Helen Smurthwaite as Vicky, the glamorous fitness fanatic, and gave a strong performance. When one  of their group had had to pull out of the walk, Vicky found a replacement in the shape of her new boyfriend, Andrew, played by Matt Pollard. Matt held his own amongst a stage full of strong women, and you could see he loved playing this complex character, who had his own reasons for wanting to join the walk, 

There were also  good comedy cameo performances from Judith Barton, Graham Hadley, Steve Kellett, Pete Lamb and Chloe Ashmore, who got the audience in the mood for Act 2 with a full on aerobic workout. The simple set worked well, and was changed with ease and speed by cast and crew. 

Credit must be given to Helen Shepherd, Director, who delivered a great piece of theatre to the the people of Bawtry. The audience really enjoyed the play and I’m sure many people left the theatre feeling emotional. 

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