Heyday

When it came to deciding on their latest production, it seems that Phoenix Players were in a bit of a quandary.  They had a hankering to perform Noel Coward’s classic Blithe Spirit, but were aware that this had been performed a few times locally in the recent past.  Enter playwright Monica Yell, who was responsible for last year’s NODA Award winning Death Us Do Part.  Perhaps, suggested the Players, she could come up with something similar?  Thus, Heyday was born.

The show started before we had even entered the auditorium, as director Philip Leigh and many of the characters appeared in full costume, welcoming us to what seemed to be an after-show party in the roaring Twenties.  Into the theatre we went, to be greeted by a very nice set depicting a 20’s-style theatre, where the party was already going strong.  The rather modern music playing seemed a bit jarring at first, but in retrospect this did a good job of alerting us to the time-travelling shenanigans that were ahead! 

Once we had all gotten out of the way and into our seats, we were graced by the starry presence of Leonora Bow (Clara Abel, full of charismatic, raffish charm) and a retinue of hangers on, including the amusingly named Errol Finch (Baz Stilinski), with whom she was soon romantically entangled – despite the apparent presence of her husband in the same room!  The ebullient decadence of the period was well evoked in this scene, with members of the ensemble playing their part in creating the louche atmosphere. 

We were then transported forward about 30 years in time, to the early 1950’s, as the set became the home of an older version of Leonora, forcefully played by Lynne Neale.  There were shades here of another Coward play, Present Laughter, as Leonora echoed Garry Essendine’s dismay at the passing of time.  Also present was her latest husband (we weren’t to find out his exact identity until the very end of the play), played by Rob Warnes, and her daughter Sylvia (Eloise Essig), very much a chip off the old block and straining at the leash for her independence. 

We learnt that Sylvia had invited her college Professor, Roland Fairburn (David Hopkins) over for the weekend, although it turned out that he was rather more interested in her mother (more Coward echoes here – in this case the classic Hay Fever).  Added into this mix was the visting Dotty Abernathy (Karen McDonald), a Madame Arcati style figure (complete with turban) selling her new-age wares door to door.  When she produced a clock that can apparently send people back in time, Leonora saw her opportunity to revisit old glories.  But things didn’t go quite to plan as, instead of sending the older Leonora back to the twenties, the magical contraption brought her younger version forward to the fifties, stranding her there.

And so, the scene was set for a very entertaining joust between the two versions of Leonora, as they exchanged some witty verbal spars whilst trying to work out how to send the younger version back to her correct time.  As in Blithe Spirit, the ‘ghost’ was only visible and audible to its summoner, leading to some extremely similar scenes to the Coward play, in which other characters amusingly attempted to converse with the young Leonora whilst facing in the wrong direction, whilst her older version provided a wildly inaccurate account of her responses.

A further layer of more physical comedy was provided by Samm Lees as Maud, the Bows’ maid and Leonora’s former dresser.  Her comic reactions to the madcap goings on around her garnered plenty of laughs from the audience.  A word too for the ensemble, who were quite sparingly used after the opening scene, but provided good energy and colour whenever they appeared.  I particularly liked them squeezing their faces up to an imaginary window in a flashback scene depicting the provenance of the magical clock.  Well done, then to Elea Walker, Lisa Morris, Nicholas Milton, Diana Truchanova, Angharad James and Nick Johnson. 

The comedy escalated further when a failed attempt to send young Leonora back to the 20s rendered her visible to the whole household, whilst things took a farcical turn when the unfortunate Roland found himself trouserless after being seduced by Leonora.  The cast were clearly having a whale of the time with the material, with Philip Leigh and his co-director Alyson Goodey achieving a heightened acting style from their performers which enhanced the ‘anything goes’ irreverence of the evening.

The story concluded with young Leonora and Dotty eventually swapping back to their original timelines (a little easily, perhaps?) and everyone having learned a life lesson or two.  A nice little coda saw Mr Bow sneak away and use the clock one more time to summon his younger self (it was Errol after all), who proceeded to be rather unimpressed with his cardigan wearing older self! 

My thanks to Phoenix Players for the customary warm welcome to the Bear Pit.  As Noel Coward himself once said, ‘the theatre is a wonderful place, a house of strange enchantment, a temple of illusion’.  Surely, then, he would have approved of the Player’s efforts.  Congratulations to you all on premiering this most entertaining show, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Additional comments from Andy Brown:

I was pleased to attend a performance of Hey Day by the Phoenix Players, albeit on a different evening to Chris, in his capacity as Regional Representative.

Having not heard of the play before, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect beyond the marketing materials — which made it clear the piece was connected to the 1930s. I later discovered the play was written especially for the group. Who would have thought — a playwright in Stratford-upon-Avon! Whatever next?

Not wanting to repeat Chris’s very thorough report — with which I am in full agreement — I’ll simply add that I thoroughly enjoyed the immersive pre-show experience, where I was escorted to the auditorium by a multitude of enthusiastic cast members. From that moment, it was clear there was a range of costumes on display — some echoing the 1930s, while others looked more in keeping with the 1950s. As explained, this mix made sense within the context of the story.

As for the set — it was impressive, especially considering the limitations of the venue. I half-expected a Belgian detective from the 1930s to appear at any moment! A particular highlight for me was the collection of posters advertising the film career of Lenora Bow. These featured such classics as Some Like It Cold, Citizen Whip, and of course the unforgettable Breakfast at Audrey’s.

The play itself had echoes of Noël Coward in its style, with intriguing time-travel elements exploring the dangers of seeing oneself in later life — whether that means a less glamorous version or the horror of finding oneself in a cardigan!

Did I enjoy the evening, and would I watch it again? Absolutely. The time flew by — even without the help of the somewhat magical clock.

My congratulations go to everyone involved in Hey Day, whether on stage, backstage, or in technical roles.

Thank you again, and I look forward to seeing you all at Hercules the Panto next year!

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