Panic Stations!

Panic Stations! is one of a collection of comedy plays from the genre of the Lord and Lady Elrood farces by the prolific playwright Derek Benfield and was chosen by NATS for their 10th anniversary summer production.  For me, this was my first experience of a Derek Benfield play and it turned out to be a gem!

Confusion and misunderstandings abound when Chester Dreadnought purchases an idyllic country cottage which, unbeknownst to him, is the target for a military exercise organised by the nearby army training camp.  Local handyman Abel Bounty and his wife have been drafted in to get the cottage ready for the new owner.  In advance of his arrival, Carol, a young and naive woman, whom Chester had previously met in the local pub, has turned up to help, mistakenly thinking the cottage is going to be their love-nest.  When Chester's wife Patricia arrives with her aristocratic parents Lord and Lady Elrood in tow, mayhem ensues, with Chester trying unsuccessfully to talk his way out of each situation that arises, only to get himself into ever deeper water.

The living room interior of the cottage had been sympathetically recreated by Don Alexander and Mike Hannant and worked extremely well in the confined space available, with Joe Higham providing the lighting and appropriate and effective sound effects.  The costumes, too, were in keeping with each character and added significantly to the overall visual effect.

As you can imagine, the dialogue in this type of comedy comes thick and fast and the entire cast did a terrific job in remembering their many quick-fire cues and ensuring the pace never slackened.  Only occasionally, in Act 2, did one or two of them have need of assistance from John Oglesby, the prompt, when they temporarily lost the plot!  Artistic Director, Matt Squirrell, assisted by Lyndsey Millington, had maximised the comedy of the piece and was fortunate to have such a talented cast, who provided us with some great characterisations......

Matthew Fyleman as the hapless but quick-thinking Chester; Will and Tracey Murray as Mr. and Mrs. Abel Bounty; Yvonne Hannant as Chester's long-suffering but forgiving wife Patricia and Tony and Jaqueline Pullen as Patricia's disapproving parents Lord and Lady Elrood.  Becky Monk put in a good and solid performance as Carol and Julie Hancock was delightful as the eccentric amateur historian Miss Partridge.  Steve Hancock, as Sergeant Everest, in charge of the local army training camp, was suitably commanding in his role, even when making the simple mistake of having the local map upside down, when explaining the tactical manoeuvres involving the cottage to a distraught Chester!

Thank you NATS for a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining evening.

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