Panic Statons

This type of farce seems to be a peculiarly British invention, and is built on the premise of a number of totally unlikely circumstances combining to cause a chaotic set of events. All that is demanded of the audience is to suspend belief for the evening and just go along for the ride.   Panic Stations sits firmly within this genre. Chester Dreadnought has brought a run down country cottage set in the rural, idyll. On arriving to take possession of his new home and await the imminent arrival of his wife, her autocratic mother and trigger happy father he discovers a young lady who appears to think he has invited her to move in. Add to the mix, assorted villagers and the fact that the cottage stands in the middle of an area where army manoeuvres are taking place and mayhem ensues.   All the actors worked hard to deliver their roles and I particularly enjoyed the performances of Ken Roberts who got the manic Lord Elwood off to a T. and Chris Hobson who played a bemused Mrs Bounty. The momentum kept up well in the first act but I felt that the second act could have done with a little more polish. Unfortunately to all the performance I saw there were a number of prompts. I'm sure this was just a blip but nevertheless prompts tend to affect the smooth progress of the play.   The set nicely depicted the interior of a cottage which needed some T.L.C and the lighting and backstage crew all served the players well.   All in all this light - hearted production provided an evening of enjoyment for the audience. I hope everyone involved enjoyed the experience too.

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