MY BRILLIANT DIVORCE

I can only think of a very few actors who could do justice to this role, and also have the stamina to carry it off. Anne Burgan, as Angela Kennedy Lipsky, waltzed through this piece as if it had been written just for her to perform. She immediately had the audience in the palm of her hand from the onset, with impeccable direction from experienced Kate Russell. The first Act dealt with the time when Max left Angela and the time immediately after the event, whilst the second Act dealt with the first year following her divorce.

The set was adequate, with no clutter and props were kept to a minimum which did not detract from the central figure, and gave Anne full control of the space available. Never off stage, Anne’s interpretation of the characters created by, and impersonated by Angela was excellent. From Vanessa, Angela’s daughter, to Mr Tripp, Angela’s Solicitor and Meena and Leena, Spanish Cleaning Ladies to Dr Phyllis Epstein, Gynaecologist and fourteen other characters sprinkled in the script, Anne took control of portraying each of them differently, to the delight of the audience.

Credit must be given to the team of characters who provided the live voiceovers. It was evident that much research had been made by the Director and cast with regard to dialect, and pronunciation as each voiceover gave a faultless performance. Simon Lewis was convincing as Angela’s ex Husband, Max, who Angela referred to as Roundhead, and also as Warren, Helpline Counsellor from Wales. Anne Davenport/Dominique Watkins were perfect at Angela’s Mother, a devout Irish Catholic whilst Dominique Watkins/Rachel Jones characterised Sylvie, Angel’s friend. I was particularly impressed with Ami Pritchard who cleverly switched her dialect from Gita from New Delhi to Eileen from Edinburgh, both Helpline Counsellors, whilst Rachel Jones hit the right note as Helpline Counsellor Becky from Birkenhead.

This piece was a huge challenge and I must congratulate all concerned in this production for a memorable evening’s entertainment, the only downside was the size of the audience. The Company deserved a much larger audience and I can only emphasize that those who did not attend missed a real treat. I understand that the Company had so much fun in the rehearsals leading up to the Production and of course this came over to the audience during the performance, after all, this is what it is all about, enjoying every aspect of production. Well done all, and thank you for presenting this ambitious and thought provoking piece. I look forward to your next production.

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