Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

As always Pauline Iredale’s Front of House team, five of whom, Rondy Baldwin, Marjorie Lumb, Ged Jarret, Gill Warren and Pauline herself, have clocked up 292 years in the theatre, were immaculately turned out, proudly displaying their NODA long service medals. Their enthusiasm for the theatre and PODS in particular, is infectious and I am always given a wonderful welcome every time I am invited to a PODS production. My thanks and appreciation go to all of them for their service to amateur theatre. 

“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” is in my top five favourite shows, and knowing that PODS productions are of a very high standard, expectations were high, fortunately PODS did not disappoint.

The stage sets were mostly very good, however there were one or two trucks, such as the train carriage and balcony trucks that were not of an equal to the rest of the set. Production Manager John Lawrence and Deputy Stage Manager Tracy Sortwell and their team did an excellent job in changing the scenes so seamlessly. The props on the whole were good but some of the luggage that was supposed to belong to very wealthy people was old and battered and noticeable because of this. The costumes by Lucille Villamayor, Tracey Sortwell and Amanda Villamayor were very good, only let down by some of the inappropriate and unpolished shoes worn by some members of the chorus. The lighting design by John Lawrence was very good indeed with good use of wash’s and specials, considerate of the passage of time and perfectly operated by Tim Burgess. The sound design and engineering by Lezel Patterson was faultless with perfect balance between the vocals and the band.

Calvin Lawrence was a capable Lawrence Jameson and Danny Shackell was perfectly larger than life as Freddy Benson and was hilarious in the dungeon scene. Harriet Kemp-Hunt was great as Christine Colgate, playing the victim to a tee. Amanda Villamayor was outstanding as Muriel Eubanks, who is a character written for the musical and Amanda stole the show with as professional a performance as you will ever see in amateur theatre. Phillip Booty held his own admirably and gave a very enjoyable performance. Hannah Joy Ogden was an energetic Jolene Oakes and a perfect patsy for Lawrence and Freddy’s subterfuge. The Chorus worked very hard and kept the energy levels up throughout. Rob Bristow’s Choreography was extremely well executed by the cast.

The Band, led by Musical Director Steve Hession, were absolutely superb. Because they were out of site, I am sure that a lot of the members of the audience thought they were listening to a backing track. I myself, because they were not in the auditorium, nearly walked out before the end without show my appreciation, however I didn’t, and clapped as loud as I could.

Rob Bristow grows in stature as a director. He has a great feel for stage craft and the art of telling a story, and all of these qualities were evident in this production.

This was yet again a great production from PODS and I look forward to being invited to seeing many more.

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