Free and Easy

“Free and Easy” is a play set in 1967 which is based in a pub run by the Dobbins family called “The Last Drop”. The Free and Easy night held in the pub has played a big part in it having won regular “Pub of the Year” awards and staff and customers frequently take to the mic to perform the latest hits.

Director Rebecca Charlton chose to set the play as an immersive piece with the audience becoming customers of the pub and the action taking place around them.  Permission was sought from the writer to make changes to the script including setting it in the North East as opposed to its original Manchester setting. The immersive aspect worked well and certainly enhanced the piece.

At the heart of the pub are landlord Eric and landlady Iris who were played by Gary Saunders and Karen Scott. Both had a natural delivery which made for believable character performances, Eric’s responses to Iris’ off stage instructions were very funny and both had a good rapport with each other and the other characters. Rebecca Charlton stepped into the role of their daughter Tracey at the dress rehearsal proving the consummate professional that she is, her acting and singing was perfect throughout. The barmaids of the pub were well portrayed by Emily Smith as Sharon and Katherine Donald as Vanessa, both of these characters had a back story to tell. Emily’s direct interaction with the audience was particularly good and her monologue delivered perfectly. Katherine had some lovely tender scenes with “the twins” (Amelia Savoury and Isla Scott) and with Iris. Both ladies gave super vocal performances and their character’s resolve and feistiness came to the fore when they dealt with “Dodgy Ron”.  Adam Donald gave a menacing performance as Ron the villain of the piece, a complex character who had to work against the rest of the characters in his quest to take over the pub. Pub regulars included “Lonnie” whose character was given an endearing and loveable portrayal by James Cooper, his rendition of “Can’t take my Eyes off you” was hilarious. Other regulars were mates Kev and Steve “Switch” brought to life by Joe Coulson and Owen Saunders, two very different character personalities but they worked really well together, their “banter” was believable. Joe portrayed Kev’s love of Sharon with a moving performance of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and his natural comedic ability was an asset in his character portrayal. Owen was believable as the would-be playboy with a sweet vulnerable side, the scene with Tracey outside the pub was particularly well played and their duet was lovely.  Cara Moody as Sammy the paper delivery kid gave a confident performance, her timing was excellent and she had great interaction with Eric. There was strong support throughout from the ensemble with good vocal and dancing performances, I must however mention Alex Rochester who led the Act 1 finale “Rock Around the Clock”, a super confident performance.

Costumes and hairstyles were appropriate to the period, the set certainly gave the atmosphere of the pub and the raised stage area looked good as the home/office and outside of the pub. Lighting was good and highlighted the areas of action as needed, the sound was clear and well balanced.

Musical accompaniment at the free and easy was provided by an excellent 3 piece band consisting of piano, bass and drums, a typical line up of pubs and clubs of the time, and was under the direction of Chinami Smith. Choreography by Rowanne Allon and Sheralyn Cooper suited the period and was well executed throughout.

The play was fun to watch and definitely gave the audience a dose of sixties nostalgia in both the action and the songs, congratulations to all involved for a super evening’s entertainment.

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