Keeping Our End Up

This was a special production as it was only the second ever, the first one having been in 2019, when it was written. It was also an interesting approach that had been adopted by the playwright: rather than having a strong central narrative plot driving things forward, it focussed on the characters – five female members of a bowls club - their interactions, and the individual trials and tribulations that were going on in their personal lives. What lies beneath the apparently serene and confident surfaces is gradually revealed. There’s support and there’s antagonism. In this it resembles Ladies’ Day, Stepping Out or Day of Reckoning. The lack of a driving central story line means that the burden of engagement rests on the actors; it’s the stories of their own characters and the way one character relates to another, plus the complex dynamics of the group which are the interest, and so the acting needs to be top notch. It was. It also means that the direction needs to be really tight, and, in the assured hands of Adrian Harding as Director, it was.

It was very much an ensemble piece and everyone worked excellently together, negotiating the shifts of mood and emotion, from humour to pathos. What made the play so moving was the subtlety demonstrated, without losing the energy of the piece. Often what was taking place were just ‘ordinary’ one-to-one conversations, but they were made interesting by the subtle looks and reactions of the woman listening to the one speaking. Each character needed to be convincing, and the actors achieved this most impressively. The interactions between the characters were utterly believable, and were illuminating, amusing and moving.

Framing many of the scenes were short monologues delivered by Ursula, primarily out to the audience as though representing her own internal thought processes, but sometimes actually overheard at the end by another character. This was a challenging thing for the actor to get right, to hit the appropriate tone, and  Ursula achieved it superbly. Ursula’s dilemma over whether or not to leave her husband was subtly and beautifully played. I also enjoyed the delicate touches of ‘natural business’, such as when she used the hand sanitiser; or when, at other times, a character might mop the floor or polish their ‘woods’. All these little touches added to the realism and power of the piece.

Powerful too was the seething sadness and anger displayed by Joan, who, it was revealed during the play, had lost her daughter. The scene in which she argued with Veronica (‘Ronnie’) was very good indeed and ended with the lovely touch of pathos turning to humour as Ronnie says, after imparting some wise words (‘sometimes bad things happen and it’s nobody’s fault’) ‘now I really do need to go to the lavatory’. The performance as Ronnie was impeccable throughout, very easy (in the best sense of the word), confident and natural, a brilliant study of a woman with apparent self-assurance on the surface but wrestling with underlying anxieties and issues. Her stirring pre-match captain’s speech, à la Shakespeare’s Henry V before the Battle of Agincourt, was a highlight.

Possibly the most challenging of the parts to deliver was that of Fiona (‘Fee’), who gradually reveals that the shaky relationship with her husband is a lot worse than it at first appears, but doesn’t want to admit it. Fee trod a delicate line and displayed great sensitivity, subtlety and power, but also humour; not an easy thing to pull off, but she did, and very well.

A tribute to the both the writing and to the acting and direction was that each character was clearly delineated, contrasting and complementing each other. This was particularly the case with the character of Janet (‘Jan’), the young teacher. In her youthful energy she is almost in a separate world from the other, older characters; and yet, through her sweetness and constant efforts to help, she is very much a part of the club and the group. The actress played the part superbly, at all times maintaining a focus and energy, and with delightful touches such as her offbeat enthusiasm for the tea-urn which she anthropomorphises as ‘Ernie’.

A special mention should be made for the cameo as the off-stage bingo caller, Bill Tranter, which was great fun, and also for the set-designers and constructors. It was a most effective representation of a common room/lounge in a bowls club, with great attention both to the overall impression and to the little details. I was amused, by the way, by the promotional flyer for the play that had been pinned onto the club noticeboard – surreal! I also enjoyed the atmospheric and nostalgic soundtrack full of Matt Monro hits.

At one point one of the characters says ‘bowls is part of the fabric of this village’. The cast and director created convincing characters who left the audience feeling that all five women were also part of the fabric of the village. A very enjoyable production – congratulations to everyone involved.

 

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