Goodnight Mister Tom

Goodnight Mister Tom is a play by David Wood set in 1939 as Britain stands on the brink of war.  Many young children are evacuated to the countryside to escape the german bombs.  William is sent to the village of Little Weirwold and Tom is his new guardian.

Dai Williams as Tom Oakley captured the character of ‘Mister Tom’ beautifully, lots of different emotions, you can almost see him thawing at the arrival of the little lad. Excellent performance that would not go a miss on the professional stage.

Gethin Day as William Beech never lost the emotional thread of the piece, finding just the right tone of bewilderment of the withdrawn and brutalised evacuee who has been tormented by his mother. The concentration and delivery of script is a credit to his acting abilities. A actor to look out for in the future.

Owain Stephens as Sammy controlled the puppet of Sammy the dog throughout with ease. Congratulations.

Luke Critchton as Zach, William’s best friend was full of energy and confidence and gave a well-timed and enjoyable portrayal of the character. Another young actor to look out for in the future.

Angie Dymott as Miss Thorne/Mrs Beech, both completely different characters but well delivered. Strong performance, good diction.

Louise Harvey [Carrie], Taya Cooksey [Ginnie], Amelia Driscoll [Susan] and Eli Mathias [George] were all well disciplined, good facial expressions and great characterisations.  

The rest of a large cast doubled and tripled with gusto and did credit to David Wood's lovely script. Diction was excellent from all on stage, so important in this very wordy play.

The fixed set worked well for this production, Lighting, ably supplied by Lightsource Production Services and complimented the production. Costumes were colourful and appropriate to the period. The music choice suited this production and added to the overall feel.

If you want a child to tread the boards, this is the play to inspire him or her.

Congratulation’s Hilltop Theatre Company.

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