Last Quiz Night on Earth

Many thanks to The Hall Players for inviting me to see their latest production entitled 'The Last Quiz Night on Earth' at the Preston Playhouse on Thursday 19th October. This work by Alison Carr is an innovative comedy-drama featuring a fully interactive pub quiz for the audience to participate in, complete with real teams, real questions and real swapping each other's answers for marking. From the moment audience members entered the house to find their seats, clutching pads of quiz answer sheets provided on entry to the theatre, a repeating urgent announcement made us aware of the imminent end of the world due to an asteroid hurtling towards Earth. Where do British folk go to spend their last hours as they await their impending doom? To the pub of course, and as it happens to be quiz night at the appropriately named Four Horsemen, why not have a go at one last chance of pub quiz glory?! Landlady Kathy was on hand with a warm welcome for us all and I enjoyed the way the audience were included and spoken to throughout as if the house was an extension of the pub scene on stage.

I must first congratulate all involved in the set construction, dressing and props; this really was an outstanding set with great attention to detail and it grabbed my attention the moment I walked in. I appreciated director Dominic Swarbrick’s decision to have the audience walk in to see a lit stage, as this very much encouraged the feeling of the audience being in the pub themselves. Bob and Sam Cuthbertson on lighting and sound were on the ball all night, with the sound cues very well timed throughout. This play could potentially be quite stagnant for the audience visually but Dominic had directed the main cast of four to make effective use of the available space and vary their levels, which worked particularly well against the static quiz teams on stage who spent the evening enjoying a couple of drinks at their tables. The ensemble cast making up these teams did a sterling job of always remaining in character, interacting naturally without detracting from the main action and appeared authentic throughout the evening. I even at one point saw Ian Buckly and Nigel Parsons reacting to an audience members’ phone ringing; a subtle but brilliant moment.

There was plenty of laughter throughout the audience and a real buzz in the air, which is attributable to the way the cast set the scene and tone of the action which occurs in real time. The principal cast for this piece comprises only four characters – Kathy the landlady, Rav the pub quizmaster, Kathy’s brother Bobby and Rav’s ex- girlfriend Fran. All four were played in a convincing, naturalistic style and the actors created very distinct and solid characters which were entertaining and easy to watch.

Kathy, played by Anne-Marie Flood was the glue holding everything together with her warm-hearted punter interactions, always ready with a quick-witted reply or commiserating drink. Anne-Marie portrayed this character with an easy going, confident style reminiscent of Jane McDonald and was a pleasure to watch. We saw her demeanour change as her brother arrived later and witnessed an array of emotions. The love Kathy has for her pub and punters clearly came across. Anne- Marie had a way of drawing the audience into the action without coming across as fake or trying too hard – I really enjoyed this performance, nicely done. Patrick Kennedy was our charismatic, larger than life quizmaster Rav and I enjoyed his characterisation very much. Patrick’s character arc across the two halves of the production was well crafted as we gradually started to see beneath the surface of the bravado to the more sensitive soul underneath. Patrick worked hard throughout the evening to break the audience away from and then bring them back to the on stage story telling in between his interactive pub quiz rounds. He did so with a calm and confident air and seamlessly interacted with the punters (audience) as they called for questions to be repeated. This really was a performance to be proud of. Bobby is Kathy’s estranged brother, who on the surface is very troubled and full of anger, only turning up to settle old scores whilst he still can. However, we learn that underneath it all is pain and misunderstanding and a man who loves his sister. Steve Dobson played this role in a well-balanced manner and as his story progressed, enabled the audience to change their opinion of Bobby and empathise with him. Another well crafted character and arc, well done. Rav’s ex-girlfriend from their school days, Fran believes Rav to be the love of her life and wants one last shot at love before the world ends however, Rav doesn’t share her feelings and actually doesn’t even recognise or remember who she is initially. I felt Abbie Clegg had this characterisation spot on and delivered some fabulous comedic one-liners in a very natural manner. She had some lengthy, speedily garbled dialogue and Abbie absolutely nailed this with excellent diction so every word was heard. Everything from her posture and movement to her cadence and tone of voice was the perfect fit for the character Abbie created and her performance was a joy to watch.

This really was a thoroughly entertaining and well executed production and even though I only came joint second in the quiz (which I was proud of as a team of 1 across 5 rounds!) I came away from the theatre with a smile on my face and over the next few days told a number of people about what a great time I’d had. The whole team should be very proud of this offering and I look forward to the next production by The Hall Players.

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