Last Respects

LAST RESPECTS … a series of comedy sketches performed by The Unnamed Players at St Teresa’s Parish Centre, Windsor Road, St Helens on Saturday, 19th November 2022

It was the 22nd March 2019 that I was last invited to attend a production performed by The Unnamed Players… they performed two one act plays ‘Last Tango in St. Helens’ and ‘A Day in the Life of the Swift Family’ at St Thomas’s Church in St Helens. Much has changed since then… earlier this year, they could well have gone out of existence, but thanks to a small number of ‘stalwart members’ they’ve battled on, overcome a great deal and it would appear, after attending their latest production, that life is on the up!

This was a ‘slightly different’ experience… more of a ‘Variety Evening’ with a troupe of local dancers called ‘The Old BAT’s Dance Troupe’ and a series of local singers and musicians intertwined with a play and 4 short sketches performed by The Unnamed Players!  We also had a raffle and a ‘stand up bingo’ all adding to the occasion!

So where to start…. well let’s start by saying St Teresa’s Parish Centre was ‘packed to the rafters’ and there was a great atmosphere running throughout the place. I will not be commenting on the dance troupe nor the singers or the musicians other than to say that they all performed well and were a great addition to proceedings. This review will focus solely on the productions produced by The Unnamed Player, the first of which was….

LAST RESPECTS which was a ‘one act comedy play’ written by Colin Calvert. The play told the story of ‘Henry Throgmorton’ (deceased) who has decreed, prior to his death, that a wake should be held in his honour at the ‘Deadlock and Ballsover Funeral Parlour’ run by Ms Deadlock played by Vicki Doherty. The guests, previously unknown to each other, include his wife Ms Throgmorton played by Joanne Thomas and his two mistresses Miss Pym played by Linda Jeffrey’s and Miss Thompson played by Pauline Doyle.  All four ladies worked well together creating good individual characters and providing us with several ‘laugh out loud’ moments. The final member of the cast was Geoff Dancer who played the deceased Henry Throgmorton (Thought you looked far too comfortable in that coffin Geoff). There were a few ‘prompts’ which did slow things down a little, but nothing that affected the overall enjoyment!  There was a real ‘unexpected twist’ at the end… which I’m not going to say anything further about… other than to say go and watch the play to find out what the twist was!  The play went well and from the applause… was enjoyed by all present.

CHARLIE’S LAST LAP… a Comedy sketch written by Frank Gibson which tells the story of a Ventriloquist and his ‘doll’ who were sat together watching a football match on television. Eric Lawton played the ventriloquist and Vicki Doherty played his ‘doll’. Again, both worked well together, there were some risqué lines in this play which the audience appeared to love! My favourite line was, without doubt… “She had lovely legs, but a lousy larynx”. If I may offer one slight piece of constructive advice … his type of sketch is reliant on the audience hearing every word… don’t rush your lines … ‘diction’ is so important for the comedy to work!  Well done!

LOST … a comedy sketch written by Mary Portalska. ‘Deb’ and ‘Sarah’ played respectively by Rachael Summerskill and Andrea Molyneux are sisters. The story is one of sweet revenge as sisters Debs and Sarah, get lost on a walking trip and take out their rage on the WI! Both Rachel and Andrea looked totally comfortable in these roles and shared with us some funny moments. There were some great one liners… loved the references by ‘Debs’ about ‘Bear Grylls and the great outdoors’ and the response from ‘Sarah’… “What I fancy is Bear Grylls not the great outdoors, especially when he takes his top off and abseils down those waterfalls! Again, really well received by audience!

AND NOW FOR MY NEXT TRICK another comedy sketch written by Cheryl Barratt. This sketch involved an aging incompetent magician and a ‘star struck’ talkative young assistant in training. ‘The Great Marvelloso’ (Magician) was played by Craig Orchard and ‘Katie’, his young assistant, was played by Lisa Jayne Standish. Again, both worked well together and again we had some great laugh out loud moments… Well done you two!

OBSOLETELY… unfortunately, due to time and pre-arranged plans, I was not able to watch the last sketch….which was centred around a family in a kitchen and the constant babble from Alice played by Linda Jeffrey. There were two other cast members… Gary Conley played TOM and Craig Orchard played Clive.

Staging/Tech… Tommy Leonard (Stage Manager) should be congratulated for all his efforts in staging these sketches. Minimal sets/staging were used throughout and were used to good effect. I thought the ‘set-up’ and staging for the first sketch – ‘Last Respects’, with the coffin centre stage, worked extremely well and afforded the actors good space to move and act and react!  Sound:  minimal sound effects were used under the watchful eye of Patrick Doherty. Minimal Lighting was used throughout!

Costumes were apt, of good quality and enhanced the sketches. Props… Tommy Leonard (Prop Maker) was the person responsible for the props used… they were of a good quality, worked well and were pertinent to each particular scene – well done Tommy!  Make-Up… Lisa Jayne Standish oversaw the ‘make-up’ for each and all and did a good job!

Production Team… Vicki Doherty and Linda Jeffrey (Directors) should be congratulated for not only bringing these five short sketches to stage… but also for their grit and determination over the last twelve months in keeping The Unnamed Players name alive!  This hasn’t been a two-handed job by any stretch of the imagination with Geoff Dancer (Chairman) and Tommy Leonard (Stage Manager) being front and centre with the ladies throughout! There is little or no doubt in my mind should these four in particular not ‘stood up’ and been counted, that ‘The Unnamed Players’ would not still be a performing today… be ever so proud folk! 

Can I also make mention of a ‘young lad’ called ‘Tommy’ grandson of ‘Big Tommy Leonard’.  Young Tommy helped Stage Manage this production with his grandfather… well done young man, future Stage Manager in the making!

In summing up, it really was great to see The Unnamed Players back on stage doing what they love… performing! Looking at the cast with smiles on the faces you could just tell they were all so proud of what they’d achieved that evening and rightly so… this was only a ‘pipedream’ earlier this year!   It was also obvious that it wasn’t just the cast who’d enjoyed the evening, the vocal support and the applause throughout the evening from the societies ‘loyal supporters’ was just rewarded for their efforts!

Keep going guys, onward and upward…. Thanks for inviting my wife and I, sorry we had to dash, really can’ t wait for your next production!

Stay safe and keep well…
'STRONGER TOGETHER’

Jim Briscoe
NODA North West
District 6 Rep

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