Heatstroke

After a year saddened both by an untimely death in the society and the unfortunate cancellation of their autumn production, the Sherborne Players were much in need of a bit of levity. And it came in abundance in the form of this most amusing play by Eric Chappell. Located in sunny Spain, Kris Wessells’ staging and Adrian Hole’s lighting created that effect very nicely and thereby set the scene for the players to strut their stuff. To work well, farce always needs larger-than-life acting and a plot that goes at cracking pace. This production had both.  The cast of six had clearly worked hard to develop and enact the distinctive features of their respective characters, on which the humour of the dialogue depended, and then kept the action moving along at an admirable rate. Anchored by Andrew Cross with the hilarious portrayal of a has-been celebrity, Jane Pitts shone as his ‘bit on the side’. Unwittingly involved in major theft, married couple Sylvie Lord and Colin Hart were very convincing in showing their initial nervousness progressively turning to bravado as they embraced the conspiracy.  Nick Soul had us guessing as to whether he was a cop or a robber, but there was no mistaking the occupation of a sinister, spine-chilling Roy Catchpole. It all added up to an engaging and highly enjoyable evening. One minor reservation; a few less prompts, and the consequent interruption to pace, would have transformed what undoubtedly was a very good play into a very good play indeed.

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