MEN OF THE WORLD

Nunthorpe Players presented John Godber’s Men of the World; a comedy that follows the account of three northern Coach Holiday operatives (Stick, Larry and Frank) as they reminisce over more exciting trips from the past, a trip to Germany's Rhine valley, whilst preparing for a weekend mystery trip to Scarborough.  Walking into the church hall brought the audience to an intimate cabaret evening layout with small, clothed tables, and candles and very pleasant ambience.  Welcome was given by the society and their supported charity SSAFA before the performance then commenced, which was a lovely touch. Utilising a static set of a travel station that was well created,  and designed, clever visuals were created with the versatile use of suitcases.

The drivers, Stick (Ivan Limon), Frank (Jayne Kempen) and Larry (Cashel Mulgrew) who all portrayed their characters very well were the main characters with "Larry" providing the narrative anchor very ably, and Jayne and Ivan ("Frank" and "Stick") interchanging into other various characters throughout scenes.  They managed to keep in character very well going from one to the other effortlessly in a modern style no scene change bespoke lighting drama with only minor costumes changes. This ensured much hilarity followed.  This was a challenging play for all the actors, dialogue of all the cast was always audible, taking on Yorkshire accents with subtle distinctive physical and vocal changes required to suit the variety of characters portrayed.  Smaller parts were played by David Barry, Hannah Barker, Helen Franks and Colin Rodgers who all added to the enjoyment of the audience and in total gave 18 characters from the small cast of seven, each of the characters fitting into various groups becoming identifiable with their associated nick names and their then associated music; well done sound. 

Overall, Nunthorpe Players succeeded in producing a complicated and challenging piece of drama. In usual Godber style, was splattered throughout with choice language and a deridery observation style of the coach drivers and their elderly passengers, a strange play choice for a conservative church hall audience but gauging by their laughter throughout was both well received and enjoyed by the audience. Well done to all involved

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