Enchanted April

Enchanted April a play presented by St Ambrose Players at ‘St Ambrose Halls 4 Hall’, Moss Lane, Leyland on Friday, 11th August, 2023.

‘Enchanted April’ is a 2003 comedy romance play penned by Matthew Barber… adapted for stage from Elizebeth von Arnim’s 1922 novel “The Enchanted April”. The storyline tells the tale of sweet-natured Lotty Wilton, who is suffering depression from a bleak London Winter and an oppressive relationship with her pompous solicitor husband. Lotty sees an advertisement in a newspaper to rent a castle in Italy for the month of April, in an idyllic spot “for those who appreciate “wisteria and sunshine” … she jumps at the chance to escape her downtrodden existence!  She senses an instant kinship with fellow housewife Rose Arnott, a severely angelic woman who has sorrows of her own. Lotty persuades Rose to join her on her adventure and in an attempt to reduce costs, they invite two other ladies, Lady Caroline Bramble, a beautiful exhausted socialite and Mrs. Graves, an overbearing widow, to round out their party! Out in Italy, it isn’t all plain sailing, the four clash, but soon, the sun-drenched San Salvatore starts to work its magic and they begin to bond and bloom resulting in hope and friendship… that is, until the MEN arrive and ‘upset the balance’ or do they?

Production Team… as soon as those curtains opened it was obvious that David White (Director)… Beth Wharton (Assistant Director) knew exactly what they wanted from this play and had ‘stamped their mark’ on it from the start!  With an excellent cast, creating totally believable larger than life characters… this well-produced, well thought out play captured the essence of its beautiful storyline of friendship, love and laughter between four very different, very English ladies!  Well done you two, great production and if the comments and applause that greeted its conclusion are anything to go by… a play enjoyed by everyone present!

Set/Staging/Tech… I’ve moved slightly away from the ‘norm’ in this review and gone straight to Set / Staging / Tech… simply because, I felt this ‘art’… enhanced this wonderful production ever so much! I’ve said it before and I’ll no doubt say it again, but St Ambrose are blessed with a ‘team of wizards’ who design, build and paint all their own sets and who went above and beyond for this play, especially the set for Act 2 which was simply stunning!  Act One was all about dark, dank rooms, gloomy atmospheres, depressing situations, miserable weather and the after effects of postwar London… a set of trucks were moved continuously to depict various locations… the crew working tirelessly and efficiently with many, many scene changes… the changes did slow the production down, but this really didn’t spoil our enjoyment!   Act Two… turned from dark and dank… to sensational and splendiferous… what a transformation, what a set!  So, I say congratulations again to Graham Forrest (Stage Manager/Set Design/Set Builder), Paul Gregson (Set Design/Set Builder/Set Painter), Tony Stevens, Gordon Manley, Martin Dempsey and Steven Barnes (Set Builders and Crew) be very very proud of what you helped achieve here guys!  Let’s not forget the Sound/Lighting provided by Stephen Porter… which again helped enhance this production ever so much…  well done one and all!         

The Cast… five ladies and three gentlemen took to the stage that evening, all of them creating wonderfully, believable characters!  I find myself in a bit of a dilemma…  as most will no this is where I suggest/select ‘Show stealer’ and ‘favourite characters’… but I’m of the opinion that the success of this play wasn’t down to an ‘individual’ but to ‘the whole’!   When you get a character like ‘Costanza’, played by Shelia Kenny … a cameo/support role, a character who spoke no English throughout, only Italian (I think), being considered alongside the leads, then you just ‘gotta’ realise that this was, without doubt, a wonderful team effort!  Shelia was fabulous in this role and that was before I’d been told about a recent health issue, which makes her performance even more amazing!  Honestly, I didn’t understand a single word that came out of Shelia’s mouth… yet I understood everything she said simply through her comedic mannerisms, her facial expressions and just her general demeanour… be ever so proud Shelia and I’m so glad you felt well enough to perform!  Sarah White had been chosen to take on the lead role of sweet ‘Lotty Wilton’, the sad, quirky, depressed, unappreciated housewife… married to ‘Mellersh Wilton’ played by Jack Vardy the arrogant, pompous, single-minded solicitor, who stifles and undervalues his Lotty, totally!  Sarah and Jack are both blessed with amazing stage presence and were ‘perfect fits’ for these parts. There was a great chemistry between them both and you could just tell that they were having the times of their lives identifying with these roles… be ever so proud you two, great job, amazing characterisations and Jack, that towel… was rather risqué!  Our second couple was Alison Griffiths-Barnes who took on the role of ‘Rose Arnott’ the strait-laced dignified housewife, the first lady that Lotty persuades to go to Italy… married to ‘Frederick Arnott’, the decadent, author and writer, played by Fraser Bruce.  Alison is another blessed with great stage presence, confident, assured… loved the opening scene with Sarah which was superbly acted, amazingly delivered and which set the tone for the entire production.  Fraser looked totally comfortable in his role, but he was ‘hiding’ a deep secret which is revealed in Act 2… worked well with Alison, well done, be proud you two!  ‘Lady Caroline Bramble’ the beautiful, lonely, self-assured aristocrat was played with great aplomb by Kerry Chippendale.  Kerry just oozed confidence and stage presence… another who made the part her own. Kerry looked totally comfortable throughout, which was amazing when I later found out that she had been wearing a brace on her right wrist after breaking a bone in it a couple of weeks previously… as I said to
her after show… ‘you would never have known’… well done, be ever so proud Kerry!  Mr. Antony Wilding the charming, attractive, ex-soldier… now an artist, the owner of the castle leased by the ladies was played
wonderfully well by Mikey Coleman.  Mikey gave us a delightful self-assured performance, capturing
the character of Mr Wilding perfectly.  Another blessed with wonderful stage … be proud Mikey!   Last, but certainly not least, we had Siobhan Edge taking on the role of the overbearing, opinionated, domineering, demanding widow that was Mrs Graves.  Another perfect fit for the role, confident, assured, never out of character, Siobhan made this part look far easier than it actually was… well done Siobhan… you never fail to impress!

Wardrobe… what a fabulous set of costumes… apt and of the era…  provided by Jean Lee, David White and the cast.   Props… under the watchful eye of Louise Taylor and Phreya Unitt, were fit for purpose and used extremely well.

This penultimate paragraph was part of a post that I read on social media, put out by our leading lady the day after the show had finished… I felt it so relevant, so, after asking permission… I just had to give others the opportunity to read it…  “We can all find friendship in the most unlikely people and places, and believing in a little magic doesn’t hurt either. If you are open to it, no matter what, we can all be ‘enchanted’ by finding beauty in the world; no matter how dark the day… the sun will shine again… our ‘befores will form a part of our afters’, and, most importantly, the blossoms will return” … thanks Sarah!

Thank you so much for inviting Susan and I and thanks for your welcome… great production, which we and I think everyone present appreciated and enjoyed so much.  Hope to see you all again very soon!

Stay safe, keep well…
‘Stronger Together’

Jim Briscoe
NODA NW
District 6 Rep

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