One Day When We Were Young

‘One Day When We Were Young’, a play about Violet and Leonard told over a 60 year period.  I can see why Ria Milton the director felt so warmly for the piece and explained her delight in the programme!  I really loved the simplicity of the writing, but the way the cast members took to their roles was great.

Laura Bradley played Violet, and Lewis Schaefer played Leonard. Both cast members had made clear choices about their characters from the drama at the beginning when bombs start falling around the hotel they are in, to the final moving moments at the end of the piece where Violet starts to play, (ably assisted by Isaac Dunn) ‘their’ song and can’t manage it. I really believed the way that these two felt about each other, and although time had passed, they still had a connection.  Lewis did a particularly good job of changing his physicality, tone of voice and whole demeanour as he aged throughout the piece; Laura also did this just not to the same extent that Lewis committed. Laura had some tough moments to portray, particularly when Violet is talking about why she didn’t wait for Leonard. Laura handled these moments really well, and we felt for her character.

The stage was used well, the scenery changed depending on which scene we were in; and I really liked the costume change transitions.  I did struggle to see some of the action, as so much of it took place sitting down on the lower level stage, it was a little frustrating to be able to see 4 people not involved in the action on a higher stage when I was missing the actual play lower down.  The entrance and exit which was used most frequently in the final scene also detracted slightly from the rest of the setting.

The lighting worked well for the piece, as did the sound. The piano was a particularly fantastic addition to the play with a very talented pianist being showcased.  The costumes looked good throughout, and the props were all utilised well.

I didn’t enjoy the prologue I’m afraid.  I found a lot of the words difficult to hear clearly sometimes due to volume, sometimes due to bad diction which meant it was hard to follow.  I felt this was an unnecessary addition to a lovely play; although of course it gave some others the opportunity to be involved rather than just change the scenes! It was a nice idea, and it did feel like the performers connected with what they were saying

The play overall was wonderful to watch, a great play with talented performers.

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