Confusions

I have to say that I really do enjoy my visits to The Memorial Hall, to see The Mendip Players.  Mostly because I know I will get the opportunity to see something different or to see something with a very different spin.  Even though The Mendip Players is one of the smallest groups on my region, they definitely have the biggest ambition and don’t let their size hold them back.  A trip to Draycott is a guarantee you will see something outside of the box, and their latest production was no different.

In July 2018, The Mendip Players staged the play “Confusions” by Alan Ayckbourn, which consists of a series of five interconnected one-act plays all loosely linked by their characters or locations and through the underlying themes of obsession, isolation and the need for companionship.  The thinking outside of the box with this production, was the idea that each one-act play should be directed by a different person, allowing new directors to “have a go” and, ultimately, increasing the amount of directors the company can then call on.  This was a very clever and simple idea and it seemed to work well as, talking with some of the directors afterwards, they admitted to being nervous about the new challenge but were now keen to try their hand at something bigger.  Having a number of different directors could have led to five plays with five very different visions but instead each play felt as if it had been directed by the same person and worked well for the overall effect.

As usual, with The Mendip Players, the quality of the sound and lighting, by Roger Reeson, Jean Reeson and Rob Elliott, was spot on with no obvious issues.  The make-up was also good and, as usual I didn’t notice it at all, which I always use as a sign that it must have been just right and all the costumes and props were exactly as I would have expected them to be, I particularly liked Stewart’s cub outfit, very authentic.

The set, for the production, was built by pretty much the entire company and, in this case, too many cooks did not spoil the broth.  The set was a simple, straightforward box set but I was very impressed that they used the same box set for each act and managed to completely transform it with the use of a few props or some pictures from a living room into a hotel bar, a restaurant and even a village fete!  Having this simple idea meant that scene changes were quite prompt and seamless but it was also impressive that these scene changes were also hidden by some extra acting, IE having Harry on the phone to the operator, at the front of the stage, whilst the changes were happening.  A clever distraction technique and a sensible idea to stop the audience getting restless whilst waiting.

The first of the five plays was “Mother Figure”, starring Fliss Cobley as Lucy a lonely but devoted mother who seems to struggle to separate her role as a mother in other situations.  Lucy ends up with two unwanted visitors in the form of her next door neighbours Rosemary (Bea Cook) and Terry (Miles Whittle).  This play was a wonderful one to start the evening and Fliss managed to convey so much about her character just in the way she went, automatically, through her normal daily routine.  It really seemed like Lucy had the weight of the world on her shoulders and you could feel her annoyance at having to deal with Rosemary.  This was a very touching play and a strong performance from Fliss.  Not actually having much “action” in the play can be a bit unsettling for some directors who feel the need to add movement just for the sake of it, not here though and Hennasey Millard kept her nerve and this play was a lot stronger for it.  Particularly funny were the moments when Lucy was telling off Terry and treating him like a small child, even though in reality Terry was nearly twice her size!  Also impressive was the way Rosemary regressed back into childhood as the play progressed, Bea Cook managed this progression well but did occasionally go slightly over the top.

The second of the five plays was “Drinking Companions”, based in a lounge bar of a corporate hotel and directed by Keith Batten.  If I am honest, this was my least favourite of the plays but that is certainly not a reflection of the director or the cast.  I was very impressed with Dan Ward as the ever hopeful Harry (husband of Lucy) and his persistence in trying to bed Paula (Karen Salt) and then Bernice (Tricia Lumley), but I just felt that this play didn’t really go anywhere and wasn’t as strong as the others.  All three of the main actors did a professional job of portraying their characters and it was clever how Harry’s efforts went from being funny to just being very sad and more than a little letchy.  As with the first play, there is not a lot of action and, again, it was good to see that Keith Batten had allowed the action to stay minimalistic which helped add to the tension in the play.  However, another way of adding tension was by the use of awkward silences which, worked well to start with but after a while became a bit tiring and even, at times, looked like the actors had forgotten their lines.

The third of the five plays “Between Mouthfuls”, was directed by Ash Jones and set within the restaurant of the same hotel in play 2 (although this wasn’t made clear on the night), it involved two sets of couples having a “lovely” meal but ultimately discovering the two tables have a lot more in common than a choice of eatery.  On the one table was Martin and Polly (ably played by Mike Kennedy and Maria Millard) and on the other table was Martin’s boss, and Polly’s lover, Mr Pearce and his wife Mrs Pearce (wonderfully played by Miles Whittle and, the Joanna Lumely-esque, Sylvie Barham).  Linking the two couples was the completely put upon waitress (superbly played by Lynda Whittle).  This was a very clever play, as the story unfolds pretty much from the point of view of the waitress, the audience only hears what she hears and the guests are in quiet conversation when she is on the other table.  This was a very clever technique and was very well played by all the actors on the stage, although Polly and Martin’s muted animated conversation, didn’t really seem to match their actual conversation, when we could hear them.  Sylvie was amazing as the harassed, alcoholic wife who knows what her husband is up to, even though he won’t admit it, and she managed to portray so much with just a few knowing glances and looks.  Cudos to Lynda Whittle who really had to carry the whole play and did so well, the audience were right on her side and we really felt like this was a woman who really didn’t want to be in this job and was just, comically, going through the motions.  Again, this was really well directed and Ash managed to resist the temptation to speed through the evening or add some action to counter balance the fact that 4/5 of the actors were sat down throughout the whole play, one criticism though, occasionally the gap in the waitress returning to a table was a little too long meaning the stage was silent for just a wee bit longer than ideal, however this is a very small niggle.

The fourth of the five plays was “Gosforth’s Fete”, directed by Allie White and featured the reappearance of Mrs Pearce from the previous play.  This play was easily my favourite of the night and was just absolutely hilarious.  The fete has been organised by Gordon (fantastically played by Tim Cook) and his helper Milly (Hennasey Millard) who accidently announce that she is carrying Gordon’s baby to the whole fete, including her fiancée Stewart (Dan Ward) and the vicar (Alison Quill).  To make matters worse Mrs Pearce (Sylvie Barnham) arrives to open the fete but gets covered in mud, lost and electrocuted.  Everyone was perfectly cast and they all performed their parts to a tee, the stage looked amazing and really felt like a proper fete, the direction was slick and the performance galloped along at a steady pace, all of which added to the humour.  Dan Ward was very funny as Stewart getting more and more drunk as the play progressed and Sylvie Barnham was hilariously funny as Mrs Pearce, who seemed to have changed from the previous play into an almost Frank Spencer character but it really worked seeing this normally well to do pillar of society, caked in mud, looking a mess and nearly being frazzled to death.  However, the star performer (in all of the plays) was Tim Cook as Gordon, I just find Tim so incredibly watchable and think his comedy timing is second to none, not only that but, he seems to fit this sort of farce like production perfectly.  As I said, I loved this play and I could have easily watched Gordon trying to hold together the fete, while it is clearly crumbling around him, all night.  Well done.

The last of the five plays was a very touching play that dealt with man’s isolation, with five complete strangers feeling miserable because they are being ignored even though they themselves have just ignored someone else.  This play was directed by Fliss Cobley and set in the same park where the Gosford Fete was set (although that too wasn’t obvious on the night).  This was a really touching play and completely hung on the believability of the main cast, luckily everyone in it was superb in their role.  The play starts with, slightly weird, Arthur (Keith Batten), trying to talk to Beryl (Nataliya Wills) who ignores him and goes to talk to Charles (Miles Whittle), who in turn ignores her and goes to talk to Doreen (Barbara Wheal), who continues the trend by ignoring him to talk to Ernest (Ash Jones), who in turn moves to talk to Arthur, before the whole merry-go-round starts again.  This was really moving and I am sure more than one person in the audience related to what was going on.  Again, very little action in this play so the actors acting ability was completely on show, and they all did a fantastic job.  The setting for this play was simply achieved through the use of 4 park benches and what a clever idea having two on the floor and two on the stage, this allowed a very clear view of the “action” so to speak.  Again, this was a really well directed piece and a lot of emotion must have gone into this play.

Overall, this was yet another superbly entertaining evening delivered by The Mendip Players and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.  It was great to see so many new directors getting a chance to show what they could do and I hope that they all feel justifiably proud of what they achieved.  Thank you for yet another fantastic evening and I look forward to visiting you again soon.  Can I also add that I am so pleased to see that you have managed to set up a youth section to the club and with your new directors and the new talent coming through it is safe to say that the future of The Mendip Players is in very safe hands indeed.

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