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Heatstroke

Author: Hazel Hole

Information

Date
30th June 2022
Society
Brantham Amateur Theatrical Society
Venue
Brantham Village Hall
Type of Production
Farce
Director
Angie Heath

I had a warm welcome on arrival by the Front of House Team.

The set was designed and constructed by members and friends of the society and was fairly basic as all the action took place in the living area of a grand Spanish villa. There was a lovely picturesque backdrop of a shimmering sea and beach. There were no substantial set changes and a minimum of props were used.

There was much comedy in this farce which revolved around matching holdalls which were inevitably mixed up. One of the holdalls belonged to Sam Spencer, played by Roger Weeley who, with his wife Fay, played by Laura Pitchell, had arrived for a holiday in the villa, owned by Fay's manager. This holdall contained silk shirts which Sam had bought for the holiday. Roger played this role well, often acting as a grumpy and frustrated man who, when confronted with the contents of an identical holdall containing a great deal of cash, decided to switch holdalls to his advantage. Fay was the somewhat anxious and bewildered wife, very uncertain about Roger's plan but falling in with it. Her actions with flippers, face mask and snorkel were hilarious.

A further identical holdall was brought into the villa by an elderly, no longer publicly recognised actor, Howard Booth, played by Arjan van Heuveln. This was an excellent character portrayal by Arjan, pompous, arrogant and rather ridiculous in his own self esteem. Howard was accompanied by his young girlfriend, Dodie, played by Frankie Swan. Dodie was adept at interjecting with very relevant but cutting remarks and comments aimed at Howard and Frankie bought a great deal of energy to the role. Frankie was the glamorous girlfriend and showed great pleasure in bringing her philandering boyfriend Howard down to earth. Well played Frankie.

The implied owner of the holdall containing cash was the sinister and brooding Raynor, ably played by Mark Hinson. He appeared to the characters and indeed to the audience to be a criminal keen to retrieve the stolen fortune but there was an unexpected twist as he was in fact a detective ! Mark handled this situation remarkably well.

The real villain turned out to be the elusive Moon, played convincingly and with menace by Toby Smith. The last character to appear was the Spanish policeman, played by Ben Wilkinson.

Costumes and props, (Sianne Jackson), lighting design, (Clinton Bratchell) and sound were all very appropriate. There were a few interesting sound effects, including a supposed fall into the swimming pool.

This farce moved along at a good speed with plenty of hilarity and was greatly enjoyed by the audience. Well done to Director, Angie Heath for bringing all the characters together and creating a skilled and enjoyable production. Congratulations to everyone involved in the production.

I enjoyed it immensely and had the chance to talk with the Director, Angie Heath at the end of the performance.

 

 

 

 

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