Crawl To Be Kind

Many thanks to the Bispham Castaways for inviting me along to see their production of Crawl To Be Kind, performed at Holy Family Catholic Church Hall, on Saturday the 23rd of September 2023. This was a one act comedy play written by Troy Banyan. The play revolves around Mona, a recently divorced woman who moves into a new house with her newly divorced daughter, Pat. Upon arrival, they discover that the previous occupants lost their pet tarantula when they dropped the tank and did not have enough time to find it. Pat is unaware that her mother has set up the whole thing to cure her of her arachnophobia. However, before Mona can reveal the truth, unwanted neighbours arrive in the house with a welcome gift. They are followed closely by Les, the removal man, and Jill from the Electricity company. When they hear there is a killer spider on the loose, Les and Jill refuse to continue their work, for ‘health and safety reasons’ and won’t budge until the non-existent spider is apprehended. 

The piece was directed by Susan Hope who did well at recreating this narrative. If I am being brutally honest, I found the production to be a bit lethargic & I got a little lost along the way. I have spent some time to understand why I felt this way, which I will go into further detail below. The one act play was split into two halves with a small intermission inter-scene, which to me was nice break to help digest some of the plot line. On a positive note, Susan drew out some strong characters within the play. Unfortunately, for me there was inconsistency within theatrical style which to me did not blend cohesively. Am unsure if this was intentional, but some of the acting was naturalistic, some were quite pantomime in style, with overreactions & falsities, & there was some strong physical comedic characters created, but the blend did not work for me. The spacing of the stage could have been used more creatively, as I was quite often watching actors stood in a straight line, or glued to the set, the latter was more a result of the confidence level of the cast, but it did create some negative space, which could have been better filled. For me there were a couple of strong performances which carried the piece forwards, but with this, much of the wit & the comedy within the text were missed. Also the pitch & pace of much of the textwork became samey, whereby further colour and flavour within these elements may have heighted the drama & moments of comedy.

The design elements of the production were to a good standard. The stage was decorated to reflect a naturalistic dining room, with 2 functional doors serving as entrance and exit points, one leading to the other rooms in the apartment and the other a front door. Costumes were authentic to the characters and brought in some humour, such as the tin man outfit which provided some slapstick comedy when the trousers became stuck, & the choice of rainbow underwear with smiley faces beneath them made me laugh. I personally would have omitted the ad lib reference to the previous pantomime costume from the performance, as not all members of the audience could relate to it & so felt out of place within the context of the play. Lighting was a simple flood, but nothing more was needed, the sound was amplified by 2 suspended overhead mics, which worked a charm as all dialogue was heard clearly. 

Mona was played by Linda McKenzie who led this comedy well. She always had a strong presence onstage, and created a believable & relatable character, with depth & emotional vulnerability, which enabled an emotional report with the audience, allow us to be unjudgmental when the story unravels her untruths. 

Her daughter, Pat, was played by Evelina Davies. Evelina was a little inhibited at times which created moments of insincerity, but more confidence & experience will help in this regard. Her characterisation was believable & she had a great rapport with Mona. 

Jill from the Electricity Company was played by Cordy Jones who did well taking on this part, considering this is her first ever role, I was really impressed. Similarly, to Eve, the inhibitions & levels with the same effects as above, but again, more experience will gain greater confidence. 

The neighbours Annabel & Jonathan were played by Charlie Towers & Ian Dodd. Both created good characters for these parts, but their combined energy did not fuse for me. Annabel was played quiet naturalistically for the most part, whereby Jonathan hammier with 2 dimensional facial expressions. There was a repetition of the couple lovingly embracing throughout the text & to me this would have felt more authentic as a passionate kiss than an awkward cuddle and would have stirred more of a rouse from the audience. 

The removal man, Les, played by Andy Welsh. Andy was quite excellent in this role, providing great comedic timing & wit, not just through the text he delivered but also through the readability of thought process & inherent reactions. He continued the characterisation through to his physical performance & lifted the energy & animation while he was onstage. 

Thanks again to the Bispham Castaways for inviting me to see this production, it is always refreshing to watch this group perform & my guests & I have a wonderful evening!

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