Loot

A packed audience waited expectantly. Stage curtains already drawn, we could see the setting of the tidy front room of the McLeavy household. Excellently dressed in the style of the 70s, it was clear that this was a house of mourning – but there was no clue to the bizarre shenanigans that were to follow. 

Fay – played by Natalie French – was an efficient nurse – a ‘cheeky’ worldly ‘piece’. A truly safe pair of hands - she quickly established that she could - and maybe would - fulfil every fantasy. Totally in control. Poor Mr McLeavy – our widower – played by John McCrae, also fitted his part like a glove. Vulnerable – vaguely bemused by everything going on around him. The two lads – ‘sort’ of villains – bank-robbers – were excellently played by Eli Hartnett as Hal and Will Cooper as Dennis. Both had very good comic timing. If there was any frantic paddling going on below the surface, it certainly wasn’t obvious. Moving the body/money shenanigans was well choreographed, if occasionally tenuous! Lee Thompson as Truscott certainly knows how to ‘wear’ a character – both physically and vocally. Great player – very impactful and comic timing ‘on song’. Mrs McLeavy - Suzy Davies, the deceased wife of Mr Mcleavy, occupant of the coffin, who is replaced by the ‘loot’. She was still smiling at the end!

Now to the backbone of all our production endeavours: No matter how wonderful our actors may be, no production comes to fruition without our Creatives, and  what an amazing group of creatives you have. Director Claire Payton – planned and extracted excellent performances from all those associated with this production and no doubt marshalled an excellent team behind the scenes. The set was to die for – homely, believable, a great space, manoeuvred to gain best effect for the ‘slapstick’ aspect of this production. So congrats to Set Designer – Beth Gibbs your construction and painting team translated the ideas into reality. Similarly – good sound, lighting and props are essentials to any production. In fact, I have counted 26 (there may be more) Creatives who actually worked to present this excellent production. Congratulations to everyone.  

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