Harvey

Direction for this whimsical comedy was in the hands of the leading actor; a challenging combination!  However, with the help of his assistant director, he delivered a slick, well paced and thoroughly enjoyable show.  In the round presents the main difficulty that, wherever you stand on stage, someone is looking at your back breaking the supposed cardinal rule of ‘never turn your back on the audience’.  Not easy to overcome but it was never a problem for this experienced team who kept the cast on the move around the working space and encouraged good vocal delivery from each of them.  I was fascinated to watch the movement, which never looked artificial, random or forced, as the characters gave the whole audience the benefit of a good view of the action.  Tight spins and over the shoulder throwaways were achieved by most of the actors with an ease that belied a skill in body language far from universal amongst amateur actors, so I can imagine that much practice was required.  The casting itself was believable despite a change of gender for Dr. Chumley and of age for Miss Johnson.  Adding little dance sequences was an original touch that kept the audience’s attention while the set was prepared for action, and the humour of having ‘disagreements’ about the positioning of the coat stand further entertained us.  The entire cast played the comedy without indulging in their own comic lines, essential for us to fully enjoy the script and even in the genuine laugh out loud moments the actors remained committed to the integrity of their characters.  What I saw was a production of a high standard that quite rightly earned the audience’s applause.  The script was exploited for every last bit of humour that could be found and the company worked well together to deliver a theatrical experience that left us with a cosy glow. 

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