Men Of The World

In Men of the World, John Godber gives us his well-known style of bare-bones physical theatre, in which a minimal number of actors play a vast number of characters at a furious pace.

STARS was more than up for this challenge with a well-directed, well-acted, well-paced, and well-staged production of this classic. The acting, by the trio of Jane Collins, Dave Collins and Chris Binns, was of professional quality, and the comic timing was spot-on. A fine example of excellent teamwork, with the actors demonstrating a great rapport and trust in each other. All three had mastered various accents and slipped effortlessly from one character to the next, displaying a range of well-honed skills. Godber’s multi-role-playing style only really works if the transitions from one character to another are immediate and crisply defined. These actors all managed to play each of their roles with the heightened reality the play requires.

The play depicts life on the road from the perspective of coach drivers whose company sees numerous return holidaymakers. The transformation of the trio into the passengers was really effective and skilfully executed. The addition of a hat, a scarf, or the use of a handbag produced entirely different characters with different accents, body language, and demeanour. This was seamless every time that it happened and was even more impressive because the passengers included a trio of old men, a trio of old ladies, married couples and a 40-year-old traveling with his parents. The ‘running gag’ of ‘I wouldn’t have done it like that’ was much appreciated by the audience to the extent that they started to join in with it as the action progressed.

The set was a very clever design that really drew you in with the stark black and white, almost cave-like frame and giant map of Europe, totally dominated, of course, by the River Rhine. There was no furniture, just a seemingly endless quantity of period suitcases of varying weights and sizes constantly being brought on and taken off by our three main protagonists and occasionally sat upon. This well-crafted use of luggage made it obvious whether passengers were getting on or off the coaches or whether the coaches had stopped for a comfort break. There were times when the passengers were in the hotel or visiting local attractions, but we knew exactly where the action was taking place. Such a simple but effective use of props. This was a masterclass of prop handling not only by the actors but also, I imagine, the well-drilled crew working away backstage. When there is no scenery, then the lighting plot becomes even more vital, and the range of lighting was very well accomplished.

I must not only congratulate the actors but also the production team for bringing this production to life brilliantly. Congratulations to Dorothy Schofield and everyone involved on an excellent production, which certainly swept everyone up for a remarkable and highly entertaining journey.

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