Man of La Mancha

It was lovely to receive such a warm welcome when I went to review Hitchin Thespian’s production of Man of La Mancha.

This is not a show to be undertaken by the feint hearted but then Hitchin Thespians are certainly not that.

The stage facilities although limiting, were expertly used and the painted clothes gave a wonderful feel of 19th century European paintings. A nice touch, which led the eye to the actors and not to fussy backdrops. The cast, well chosen, complemented each other and played the multiple roles with confidence.

There were excellent performances from Michael Niles as Don Quixote, Gina Abbott as Dulcinea and David Lodge as SanchoPanza. However, when the small company of performers, all playing multiple roles, interacted together one was readily transported to this cold, dismal goal of the inquisition.  In fact the company combined produced the roles that certainly more than met all requirements. 

The company was well supported with fine performances by Belinda Gee, Kier Horne, Bob Sulzbach, Sheila Soothill, Melanie Plowman – Cobb, Iain Fishpool and John Cleverly

The costumes were excellent and certainly added to the presentation, while the simple but effective set made good use of the lighting plot although there were a couple of dead areas on stage right at times.

The orchestra under the watchful eye of Charlie Wakely performed well but occasionally the under scoring was a little on the heavy side and we lost some of the interpretation.

Props were superb and those used as personal props and those that dressed the stage were perfect for the time line.

My biggest concern was the need to increase the microphone volume every time a character sang. The increase in volume should be subtle and almost unnoticed. Unfortunately this was not the case and the audience was suddenly blasted with volume that I am sure was not necessary.

Never the less, the show was certainly a great success and performers and production staff can be proud of their achievement, the audience certainly enjoyed the occasion.

Thank you once again for your generous hospitality

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