Last Panto in Grimley/Strictly Sex Factor on Ice

These two one act plays were the first of the season’s festive offerings in the area and they were fun. Written originally, I suppose, for the same cast of characters, Writtle Cards decided to split the two plays so that one was set “up north” and the other in Writtle itself, thus giving two sets of four actors an opportunity to develop their own characterizations. This worked well but did invite comparison and I confess the northern version did have the edge.  Somehow the northern vowels and patterns of speech, to a southerner’s ear, not only have some inherent advantage when playing comedy but allow us to suspend belief a little when deciding to accept or reject the premise of the play. The obvious tension between the misogynistic Gordon (very well played by Nick Caton, by turns nasty and unctuous in his determination to get his own way) and the solidly reliable Margaret (fluently Northern and deliciously prickly Paulette Harris) never seemed to put the relationship at risk, despite the fact that in real life such people would be completely incompatible.  Daniel Curley’s blunt asides, not to mention his gurning, grunting and general body language, were superbly funny and despite the superficial crudity of his dialogue on paper the physical delivery seemed to hit the spot without being offensive.  Finally, Jean Speller’s long-suffering and unself-consciously simple Joyce was a tonic throughout; the butt of everyone’s jokes and put downs she seemed to soldier on without too much demur and topped and tailed the play nicely with her deliberately dreadful rendition of No business without show business.

 The southern version of what was effectively the same plot played by the same “characters“ was also funny but in a much harder-edged way. This edge took away a lot of the sympathy for the individuals and replaced it with a focus on the dialogue, forcing us to be complicit in Don’s manipulation of Margo and Joy and to accept the schadenfreude that seemed to be  Barry’s raison d’etre. Whereas Nick Caton’s Gordon was always desperate to wrest control of his fate from the fickle follies of others, Jim Crozier’s Don never really released control and was constantly plotting to micro-manage those around him.  Don’s weapons were sarcasm and sophistication while Gordon’s were anger and wheedling. Beth Crozier’s Margo was fragile and diva-like while Paulette Harris’s Margaret was solid and down to earth. Where Jean Speller’s Joyce was child-like and slow, Marge Naylor’s Joy was simply out-witted. Daniel Curley’s Bernard was observational and introspective; Chris Rogerson’s Barry was knowing and smugly superior. I found both productions of effectively the same thing enjoyable and intriguing and a pleasure to review. Much of the difference between the two is down to the dialogue I suspect and I wonder if swapping the characterization (ie the Grimley play played as in Writtle and the Writtle play played as in Grimley) would have made any difference.

Congratulations to all and also to Front of House for their warm welcome. 

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