Joking Apart

I was warmly welcomed when I arrived at this intimate theatre and Covid 19 procedures were explained.

Three couples were thrown together with all the action taking place in the garden of Anthea and Richard. Anthea, played by Lorna Hollister,was a kind and considerate but controlling person trying hard to organise the life of her friends. Her husband, Richard, played by Mark Saberton, was equally bullish and rather abrasive. This pairing worked really well and both actors were very convincing in their roles.

Hugh, played by Dean Marshall, was a newly appointed vicar, extremely timid and reticent and reluctant to object to the plans of Anthea and Richard. I thought that Dean's interpretation of his role was really excellent as was the performance of his younger wife, Louise, ably played by Jaclyn Byham who was the perfect foil to Hugh's uncertainty.

Business partners Sven, played by Pelham Elliott and his wife, Olive, played by Fiona Haskell were aloof from the other couples and I particularly enjoyed Pelham's accent, ably maintained throughout the play and Fiona's facial expessions were amazing to behold.

Neal Hargreaves played Brian, an old friend who was seriously in love with Anthea and he had had a number of brief relationships with various unsuitable women. These women, Melody, Mandy, Mo and Debbie were all played by Emily Young who did an excellent job in switching between these roles as required.

All the actors were well cast and ably directed by Mark Scanlon, assisted by Anthea Halstead. Well done !

There were four scenes at four yearly intervals over a twelve year period. The set design (Robert Crighton) and construction ( Chris Wade ) was simple and most effective with a few appropriate props added and taken away unobtrusively. Stage Manager Richard Stephens (also responsible for lighting design) ensured quick scene changes with Darryl Poynter in charge of lighting and sound. Costumes ( Sara Knight ) were all very relevant to the times.

Sound track was created by Malcolm Hollister and I have to mention the off stage fireworks display and tennis matches which added greatly to the hilarity. The timing and coordination of the soundtrack off stage had to precisely match the actions of the actors onstage and this was achieved perfectly.

All in all this was a sparkling and energetic performance by talented actors ably supported by the backstage crew. Well done to everyone involved.

We thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

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