Mort

When I first heard that H`All Things Drama were going to do a production of Mort, I did think it a little ambitious, but H`All Things Drama are well known for not shying away from a challenge. I went along with a very open mind and let myself be transported into Discworld. The set was a small sturdy bookcase with real books and a skull in it, six printed backdrops of filled bookshelves were hung across the stage area, a portrait was hung above these and an intriguing looking large black square tile was placed on the floor in the centre. The lighting was very simple and sympathetic to the scenes, all sound effects seemed to come in on time and I must congratulate Cameron Galloway and Russell Mansfield on their timing for sound and motion for the character Death. Costumes were good and very fitting to the individual character. Personally, I didn`t understand the wig choice for the character Mort (Adrian Middleton) but I will hold my hand up and admit that I have not read many of The Discworld series and so perhaps there is something within that dictates that choice.

Director Virginia Williamson had a very big job getting this production from page to stage as the cast have to first understand their characters that they are playing,  added to this, that most of the cast are having to play more than one character makes it a directorial headache but I must congratulate Virginia on completing this task. All the characters had their own entity and feeling of self, nothing was repeated or spilled over. The intriguing black tile square turned out to be a revolving platform on which to show the audience a fully moving portrayal of people dying and then going to Death - it was a very simple yet effective way of doing this.

Chris Williamson as Albert gave such a strong performance, he included a thick Scottish accent and a rolling style gait very different to his normal walk, he brought some good pace and energy to the scenes with Adrian Middleton (Mort) and Sophie Moss (Ysabel). I did enjoy Sophie`s characterisation of Ysabel but I did also feel it a little safe, we kept seeing snippets of this strong, forthright young woman that liked Mort but for me personally the relationship didn`t carry over in each scene and some rebuilding had to happen. Adrian gave a solid performance and showed us all the facets of Mort`s character, he used his stage space well and helped to create some great energy. Kyle Briggs as Doorknocker must be commended for getting all his lines out fairly clearly complete with a doorknocker ring in his teeth!

I`m afraid I can`t possibly mention everyone else in the cast individually, but I must say you all took on a daunting task and completed it all well, you most certainly entertained the audience and kept some good pace throughout.

Thank you for inviting me. I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

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