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Colder than Here

Author: David Slater

Information

Date
9th September 2023
Society
Todmorden Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society TAODS
Venue
Todmorden Hippodrome Theatre
Type of Production
Play
Director
Andy Fraser

Todmorden’s powerhouse drama team chose to tackle an emotionally charged play from the pen of Laura Wade with ‘Colder than Here’. A comedy with a tragic edge - or perhaps a tragedy with comic touches - this challenging drama dares to deal with difficult themes with a refreshing honesty. This was clearly a labour of love from the Todmorden team, with the director obviously relishing working closely with his small band of players to make this a worthwhile and thoughtful production. Mum Myra has cancer and only a few months to live but family life must go on. Between touring potential burial sites (Myra intends to go green and be buried in a cardboard coffin) and putting together a powerpoint presentation for her funeral, Myra also has to sort out her mixed-up family, deal with both her husband’s travails with a broken boiler and his seeming indifference to the world around him. In what would seem to be a rather grim premise, playwright Laura Wade managed to leaven this outwardly dark and heavy dramatic mixture with some lighter flashes of wit and humour. 

Janet Spooner’s Myra was the focus of the drama as the mum struggling with terminal cancer and a rather fractious family. Janet is one of District 3’s great ‘all rounders’ and gave a thoughtful and deeply considered reading of the role. The play sees her unfortunate gradual decline - over two acts - and Janet gave Myra both the fading dignity and good humour required. Janet is a consummate theatrical force and gave Myra real heart, straddling the comic / tragic demands of the script. This was a thoughtful performance which grounded the production with both gravitas and good humour.

Husband Alec was played by Michael Gill, another fine performer from the Todmorden stable. Alec seemed to be a disinterested bystander within the family dynamic and Michael successfully suggested the tired and worn-out aspect of the character. Michael’s extended telephone moan to the boiler repair people - a nicely performed frustrated ‘Victor Meldrum’ type rant - was a tonic however! 

Jenna and Harriet - the daughters - added to the dysfunctional atmosphere: Ellie Spooner gave a fine performance as jaded, troubled teen Jenna; her boyfriend trouble and her rocky past were put across very well and - wonder of wonders! - we were also treated to some on-stage smoking from Jenna. My compliments to the management! Lauren Lockett gave a very grounded and realistic performance as Harriet, the more sensible and level-headed of the daughters, and the ensemble had clearly looked upon this production as something of a labour of love and worked well together.  

The reliably brilliant stage team scored another hit with a wonderfully well crafted set - half woodland glade, half family sitting room - which was of a very high standard. I could have done without the flat screen / projection element however as I thought it detracted from the homely, theatrical nature of the piece. I would also have preferred characters to enter and exit the requisite half of the stage the same way (stage left for the outdoor scenes; stage right for the house interior) rather than have the cast making their exits wherever seemed convenient. In all other respects however, this was a technically flawless production. 

It was clear that this was a very happy production where the director and the cast had obviously worked closely to get into every corner of their characters’ motivations and personalities, and to explore both the humour and the sadness in the script. It was also nice to see potentially sensitive material treated with care and attention, with equal weight paid to both the light-hearted moments of the piece and the more dramatic and mournful aspects inherent in the script. I did perhaps think that some of the scenes involving the two daughters were a little ‘stagey’ and needlessly overwraught but these incidents were few and far between and were more than made up for by Myra and Alec’s more realistically diffident characterisations. The conclusion was well handled - cardboard coffin and all - and the message of ‘life goes on’ which runs like a golden thread throughout the play was delivered loudly and clearly in the finale. 

As a fellow victim of ‘The Big C’ (bowel, liver and lymph nodes at the last count dear reader!) it was reasonably refreshing to see Myra coping so admirably and also for the play to treat the subject matter without mawkishness or attempting to pull at the heartstrings. A wiser man than I remarked that there are two constants in life: death and taxes. It made a nice change to see terminal illness treated with realism and respect, rather than a clunky dramatic trope to elicit a tearful response from audience all too keen to reach for the tissues. For this alone, my thanks go to all at Todmorden for treating the audience with respect.This was quite a slight piece - and I have to say much of the humour eluded me and was rather broad for my taste - but was handled superbly by the solid team at Todmorden. Many thanks for making myself and my guest so very welcome and as always, I look forward to my next visit with enthusiasm. 

 

 

 

 

 

Todmorden’s powerhouse drama team chose to tackle an emotionally charged play from the pen of Laura Wade with ‘Colder than Here’. A comedy with a tragic edge - or perhaps a tragedy with comic touches - this challenging drama dares to deal with difficult themes with a refreshing honesty. This was clearly a labour of love from the Todmorden team, with the director obviously relishing working closely with his small band of players to make this a worthwhile and thoughtful production. 

Mum Myra has cancer and only a few months to live but family life must go on. Between touring potential burial sites (Myra intends to go green and be buried in a cardboard coffin) and putting together a powerpoint presentation for her funeral, Myra also has to sort out her mixed-up family, deal with both her husband’s travails with a broken boiler and his seeming indifference to the world around him. In what would seem to be a rather grim premise, playwright Laura Wade managed to leaven this outwardly dark and heavy dramatic mixture with some lighter flashes of wit and humour. 

 

Janet Spooner’s Myra was the focus of the drama as the mum struggling with terminal cancer and a rather fractious family. Janet is one of District 3’s great ‘all rounders’ and gave a thoughtful and deeply considered reading of the role. The play sees her unfortunate gradual decline - over two acts - and Janet gave Myra both the fading dignity and good humour required. Janet is a consummate theatrical force and gave Myra real heart, straddling the comic / tragic demands of the script. This was a thoughtful performance which grounded the production with both gravitas and good humour.

Husband Alec was played by Michael Gill, another fine performer from the Todmorden stable. Alec seemed to be a disinterested bystander within the family dynamic and Michael successfully suggested the tired and worn-out aspect of the character. Michael’s extended telephone moan to the boiler repair people - a nicely performed frustrated ‘Victor Meldrum’ type rant - was a tonic however!

Jenna and Harriet - the daughters - added to the dysfunctional atmosphere: Ellie Spooner gave a fine performance as jaded, troubled teen Jenna; her boyfriend trouble and her rocky past were put across very well and - wonder of wonders! - we were also treated to some on-stage smoking from Jenna. My compliments to the management! Lauren Lockett gave a very grounded and realistic performance as Harriet, the more sensible and level-headed of the daughters, and the ensemble had clearly looked upon this production as something of a labour of love and worked well together.  

 

The reliably brilliant stage team scored another hit with a wonderfully well crafted set - half woodland glade, half family sitting room - which was of a very high standard. I could have done without the flat screen / projection element however as I thought it detracted from the homely, theatrical nature of the piece. I would also have preferred characters to enter and exit the requisite half of the stage the same way (stage left for the outdoor scenes; stage right for the house interior) rather than have the cast making their exits wherever seemed convenient. In all other respects however, this was a technically flawless production. 

 

It was clear that this was a very happy production where the director and the cast had obviously worked closely to get into every corner of their characters’ motivations and personalities, and to explore both the humour and the sadness in the script. It was also nice to see potentially sensitive material treated with care and attention, with equal weight paid to both the light-hearted moments of the piece and the more dramatic and mournful aspects inherent in the script. I did perhaps think that some of the scenes involving the two daughters were a little ‘stagey’ and needlessly overwraught but these incidents were few and far between and were more than made up for by Myra and Alec’s more realistically diffident characterisations. The conclusion was well handled - cardboard coffin and all - and the message of ‘life goes on’ which runs like a golden thread throughout the play was delivered loudly and clearly in the finale. 

 

As a fellow victim of ‘The Big C’ (bowel, liver and lymph nodes at the last count dear reader!) it was reasonably refreshing to see Myra coping so admirably and also for the play to treat the subject matter without mawkishness or attempting to pull at the heartstrings. A wiser man than I remarked that there are two constants in life: death and taxes. It made a nice change to see terminal illness treated with realism and respect, rather than a clunky dramatic trope to elicit a tearful response from audience all too keen to reach for the tissues. For this alone, my thanks go to all at Todmorden for treating the audience with respect.

 

This was quite a slight piece - and I have to say much of the humour eluded me and was rather broad for my taste - but was handled superbly by the solid team at Todmorden. Many thanks for making myself and my guest so very welcome and as always, I look forward to my next visit with enthusiasm. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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