Out of Bounds

The first thing to say about this show is that one must throw out all thoughts of logical progression, and simply be happy to take things as they occur.  And do they occur!!   This is, of course the beauty of farce and there were, in this cast and production, plenty of the necessary elements to take the audience along in the enjoyment of people seen to be doing silly things.

We started out with a basic plot of man meets woman, both married, but not to each other, preparing for mutual enjoyment in a hotel room.  The man is Richard Willey, a Junior Government Minister, played by Paul Welham with an air of confidence that completely belies the developing problems, and the woman is Jane Worthington, played by Rose Meloy, happy to go along with Richards’ wishes (for a while).   All looks set for a night of passion until, drawing back the curtains to the balcony, they discover a dead body (in the person of Keith Sippitt) jammed by its head under a fallen sash window.   A panic call to the House follows, to summon George Pidgen, the minister’s Parliamentary Private Secretary, played by Gary Huggins, a rather tentative and submissive character (to start with) who is rather more than surprised to find that he is expected to dispose of the body. Still relatively straightforward, you may think, but more surprises are in store, not least the arrival of Pamela, wife of the Minister, played by Vicki Tearle, expecting a formal weekend but apparently fully enjoying what actually follows; Jane’s husband Ronnie, played by Gary Winterford, with an interesting combination of aggression and humiliation in pursuit of his wife;  Dave Turner, the waiter, who ensures he is frequently tipped, is a delight, as is David Lye as the Hotel Manager, becoming increasingly aggressive/confused as the plot(?) develops. Of the two other parts Gladys, who clearly had ‘come hither’ eyes for George (and he for her!) was played by Jo Ford, and the very obsequious Maid by Rosemary Sturgiss.

The whole show is packed with interventions and complications from telephone calls, relations, hotel staff, work colleagues, etc., all requiring speed of delivery, with pauses in the right place, exits, entrances and effects timed to perfection.  Of this latter the precision with which the sash window came crashing down on to the heads of various characters that were using this as a rapid entrance/exit point was timed to perfection! Add to that, there were also two very brief moments of nudity, on exit (one male one female), which caused something of a stir!

The company faced some difficulties with the need to change one or two of the players at a late stage, but even so this simply served to raise the pressure to provide a good production on the night. The whole of the cast and back stage crew gave us the performances that were needed to make this show work well.   Also, congratulations are due to Gary Huggins, for his first foray into Direction.

Thanks for a great evening!

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