Head Over Heels

This contemporary comedy, which comes with a warning of adult themes and language, deals with the
emotional roller coaster of a divorce from a thirty-year marriage, packed with all the awkward situations and
sweary put-downs from supportive friends that it entails. Paulette Harris the director chose to go basic with
a black set, minimal furniture and well-placed props, to suggest the locations and situations, adding
background noise and extra lighting, which were particularly effective with the disco ball effect and
Christmas night out music and chatter. The painted items, including a mountain on wheels, nicely illustrated
the wife’s various imagined demises for the husband and his new love interest, though I would have
preferred authentic shrieks and screams, as the miming to pre-recorded versions didn’t come over that well
in the hall.
Act One featured a series of flashbacks showing Jill and Andy meeting in the 1970s, and of various times
during their marriage. Sharon Goodwin as Jill (the wife) was splendid as she moved between the past and
present, being out for a drink with friends, then talking out to the audience voicing her feelings about what’s
happening to her. Sharon had an enormous amount of dialogue and portrayed an impressive range of
emotions. Andy Grant gave a strong performance as the husband Andy, showing boundless energy and a
huge number of costume changes in the flashback sequence, it edged towards being OTT at times, but the
excellent script held firm and drove the story on at pace. Act Two took the story onwards with the
practicalities of obtaining the divorce and the upheaval that causes. There were some heart-breaking
interactions between the couple, with very believable emotions during the breakup and their subsequent
combative conversations.
The supporting roles were well cast and kept in character throughout, included Silas Powell as Danny the
son at various ages, Jill’s sister Sally (Anna Sellers) and close friends Carol (Angela Riches-Heed) and
Judy (Michele Moody), and the silent but ever-present Tina (Juliet Pithers). I give special mention to a some
very memorable cameos – Michael Raith as Dr Jeffries, Liz Curley as the hard-as-nails Solicitor, Jerry
Thomas as the Gameshow Host, and Daniel Curly as the Waiter. There were walk-ons for a few more cast
members, and an interesting depiction of the battle over keeping the house, as Churchill (Solicitor) and a
soldier (Jill) against a hippy activist (Andy), with the Mediator dressed in United Nations fatigues waving the
UN flag.
I felt that Jill singing a version of ‘I will survive’ was perhaps an unnecessary encore to the poignant and
positive ending, and could have done with a little more rehearsal time, in what had been until then a well-
prepared production. There were plenty of laughs, gasps, and sighs from the audience in all the right
places.
Well done to Writtle CARDS for finding a top notch play script, and delivering a very entertaining evening.

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