More Tales From Little Grimley

                             

I was warmly welcomed on arrival and was able to discuss the performance at the end with most of the cast. Unfortunately the Director had withdrawn from the production after casting and blocking, due to personal issues so the society members collectively carried on to complete the production. I was impressed to hear how the members had rallied round to ensure that the show ”must go on”!

The production was two One Act plays from the Little Grimley collection ie Murder in Little Grimley and Little Grimley Saving the Planet. Unusually the same characters were in both plays and the same actors took the same parts in both.

There was an excellent pace to the action and the diction was good with every actor projecting well without microphones. Everyone could be heard clearly The script was immensely humorous and the timing and delivery was impeccable.

The set, as always with this society, was well designed and built by society members and included a small stage this time. A props basket (mostly hats)  and a costume rail were included with tables and chairs being moved around seamlessly as appropriate. Lighting, including five spots was complementary and costumes were all relevant to the period. There were several costume changes for most of the cast.

Rob Porter was Gordon the self appointed “leader” of a dysfunctional amateur drama group of four members desperate to produce a play and to sell tickets. Rob was authoritative and bossy, a somewhat sardonic character who was convinced that he had the ability to write a who dunnit.  In reality he ended up as a murder suspect in real life, thanks to a practical joke by the others. His so called breakdown was hilarious !

I loved Katherine Johnson’s characterisation of Margaret who loved the theatre and  was a potential diva. Katherine has such amazingly good facial expressions and contortions that the audience reacts to her unconditionally. She played a stellar role here earnestly believing that the drama group had great potential if only enough tickets were sold. Katherine had a number of costume changes with some stunning outfits.

Liz McLeod was Joyce, somewhat dyslexic, not very talented and perhaps a simple character who gave the audience some really comical moments in her inability to learn and deliver her lines in the play being rehearsed. However, Joyce was heavily involved in the practical joke against Gordon so maybe there was more to Joyce than the audience was led to believe.

Richard Kemp-Luck was Bernard, a banana munching rather thick builder who was cast as a farmer. His attempts to emulate country speech sometimes sounded more like a pirate but drew much laughter from the audience.

Greg McDowell had a small role as the novice detective Sam and was quite convincing.

I was mentioned at the end of the first play as leading a group of three potential audience members descending on the venue. Touche!

This was a real fun evening with an extremely talented cast and the audience were very engaged and appreciative. Well done to everyone involved.

 

 

 

 

  

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