Laura Turner's Cranford

I remember watching the television series of Cranford around eighteen years ago with such actresses as Dames Judi Dench, Eileen Aitkens, Imelda Staunton and many other luminaries of the British acting world. So, there was quite a challenge for Peterborough Playgoers to match this acting talent, it is fair to say that they didn’t fail.

This adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell’s novels set in 1840s Britain by Laura Turner gave us a four act play, each act with five or six scenes which inevitably gave us many scene changes. Here the company had been clever by using a backcloth of a very bucolic village scene complete with the Village Pump set centre. Either side of the stage were small flats containing opening Sash Windows a patch of grass and garden table and chairs. All were used very effectively and together with the use of lighting clearly defined the different scene changes most very efficiently changed apart from some costume changes that made slight delays, inevitable with the period costumes.

There was a cast of thirteen many of whom doubled up to perform between them twenty-two characters, The men were the busiest playing ten characters between four of them, Chris Butterly probably having the most fun when he played Signor Brunoni a travelling magician. I suspect that Sean Botha as Scottish Major Gordon provided his own costume being a player of Bagpipes. Calvin Lawrence was the abandoned love interest as well as a loving father and young Michael Martin swopped between ‘posh’ and ‘poor’ and did remarkably well having stepped into his roles two weeks before. These four portrayed their characters with style, their dialogue was good and clear and gave good performances throughout.

This was a play about the ladies of the village and the principals among them coped well with their various costume changes and worked well together as a tight knit group of mainly gossipy spinsters / widows. Jennie Dighton worked well as the bereaved Matty who was entertaining her house guest Jo Dorman as Mary Smith, these were a good pairing. They would be forever associated in my mind with Karen Mackenzie as the prim and proper Miss Pole, I liked Claire Buckingham’s portrayal of the snobbish Mrs Jamieson with her pampered pooch. These four were joined by Phoebe Fuller as Miss Jessie Brown, all these ladies gave good interpretations of their characters. Great movement around stage and a good sense of timing and clear humour, also a certain sense of coyness as they interacted with the male characters. Jessie refusing to acknowledge her feelings towards Major Gordon.  As with the men good clear dialogue although a couple of times a slight hesitation over some line. The two maids were well portrayed by Katie Harrison as Martha and Claire Buckingham who also played Fanny. The cast was completed by Angela Plater doubling as Mary Brown and Mrs Barker, Jo Pilkington as Mrs Forrester and Jennie Martin as the Milliner.

This was a play that needed to be well costumed and it was, sensible personal props, hats/bonnets that did not hide faces, all the correct gloves, the men’s costumes were smart and where necessary depicted the poor, a great magician’s coat and a magic box prop.

This show took you all out of your comfort zone with a very period production so congratulations to Veronica White and all the cast and crew.

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