Cider with Rosie

This production was very simply done, no set changes and very few props. The interchangeable flat of summer to winter trees acted as our visual aid to indicate when the seasons changed.  This was fairly effective but a few props would have helped the actors I felt.

The additional music gave a different dimension to the play and whilst I enjoyed Ann Churchill, who played the Mother, singing ‘only a rose’ much of the underscoring drowned out a lot of the speech, which was a shame for the cast.

I was very impressed with the large cast and the Conquest Theatre have so many men too, they are very lucky. The costumes were appropriate for the period therefore I was a little disappointed that Evan Pardoe-Matthews wore his hair in a very modern style which covered his face and seemed to annoy him as much as it did me. Evan was a confident Loll but his diction needs a little work as I couldn’t make out all that he said, especially at the close of the play.

Overall this was a good effort from Conquest Drama group, thank you for inviting me.

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