Neighbourhood Watch

I had not seen this show before but it is the 75th play written by Alan Ayckbourn, this one in 2011 and tackles the age old subject of law and order and volunteer vigilantes. As always with Ayckbourn the piece was driven by the characters and wry observation by the writer of what is wrong with the idealist’s intentions for the “Big Society” that Cameron so wanted for this country. Allowing volunteers to police the society they live in has disastrous consequences in this tale.

The stage was a big playing area and set in the 2 lead characters lounge. The green wallpaper so integral to the plot looked great but for me some of the action could have been blocked closer to the front of the stage to help the audience to feel drawn in. This play tackles some uncomfortable subjects but the characters were odd in that apart from one it was hard to empathise with them or even like them. That said the cast in this production did a fine job on those characters, it was just they all seemed very selfish and unlikeable.

The staging and props worked well but I was confused by the moving of the coffee table from one scene to another. I can only assume this was to denote a different day? There was good lighting including the garden from the lounge and sound effects to compliment the scenes. The costumes suited the characters well.

Jo Lord was brilliant as Hilda the Christ loving sister who has secrets of her own. Her relationship with her brother Martin, excellently played by Nick Angus was very well played out by both actors. Their bond showed and the jealousy by Hilda when her brother becomes close to the neighbour she despises, was tangible by Jo. Martin falling for that character seemed unexpected and very out of character but Nick portrayed this really well. Both characters were such hypocrites but this is how Ayckbourn makes us sit up and take notice of life and the oddities of it.

Andrea Loasby was fabulous as the gossip Dorothy who used to work on the advertising section of the local paper but who fancies herself as a budding journalist. Her diction and projection was excellent.

Steve Lowe did a good job on Rod the ex service and police officer who would prefer the world to be policed as it was in the 60’s but for me wasn’t nearly mad or paranoid enough. It’s a fine line with characters like these not to caricature them but this character needed to be more frenzied and irrational.

Melissa Jackson put in a fantastic performance as Magda the downtrodden wife of the bully on the street. I totally believed this performance and felt for her. Her monologue was beautifully delivered and heartfelt. Well done Mel.

Luther her husband was played by Si Hartley who wasn’t menacing enough for me. He looked the part and I know the direction was probably to soften his voice in a menacing way but he was way too softly spoken to deliver it that way. When he was shouting the odds the character came to life and was much more believable. There was good interaction with Nick who played Martin especially in the fight scene which looked very realistic.

Martin Kelly played Gareth, the wronged husband who has a floosy of a wife. Although he delivered it well, I felt the portrayal could have had more hurt shown. Without that I didn’t feel sorry for him or hate his wife enough to care. This was a very insipid character, almost invisible and this side was portrayed very well.

Last but not least, Katie Fry put in a dazzling performance as Amy the floosy wife who has many dalliances with neighbours and sets her sights on Martin. I loved this character and Katie’s delivery of it was perfect-very funny and showy with no shame. Never out of character, Katie held the audience every time she was on stage. A great performance.

Overall this was well delivered with black rather than complete belly laugh humour and raised many talking points which I’m sure will be prevalent for many years  to come in true Ayckbourn style. Well done to the society and everyone involved in this production and thanks for looking after me on my visit.

 

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