Postcards from the Prom

This quirky little selection of two-handers was culled from the 'Deckchairs' series of playlets by Jean McConnell and was something of a change from the planned finale to the 2016/17 season: I understand that Therese Ball was out of action for directing duties on the scheduled play and a change of tack was needed. The Arts Club team swung into action quite marvellously - as is their wont - to ensure that 'Plan B' came together to round off the season in style. Utilising the skills of the abundance of female talent in residence, this all-girl affair once again provided a showcase for the Arts Club regulars to flex their acting muscles in a diverse range of one act duologues. Despite the inconsistent quality of the five scenes on offer, it can't be denied that the performers really gave their all in bringing each very different set of characters to life, each one acted out on the seafront (or on the deck of a cruiser) with the tang of ozone and brine in the air being almost palpable.

 The audience was greeted by the sight of another wonderful set at the Clubhouse Theatre; the beautifully designed promenade staging was a treat for the eyes and provided the perfect setting for the evening. There was an echo of David Hockney in the seascape which acted as the backdrop and the juxtaposition of this artistic flourish to the rear and the attention to detail in the foreground worked very well indeed. Suffice to say, I was rather taken with the setting, if not quite so much enamoured of the uneven tone of the scenes in question as they played out.

 'Shoppers' was our first playlet and featured Lisa-marie Hunt and Sarah J Nolan as two ladies of leisure who meet up on the promenade after a busy morning of retail therapy; or so it seemed... The nifty little twist at the end of the scene, unexpected and mildly humorous as it was, lacked a little in the delivery and didn't have the surprise value it might have had. I think the culprit here was the underpowered script rather than the performances but perhaps a more broadly emphatic resolution to the playlet might have improved the ending a little and a broader treatment of the humour of the piece would have set the audience up for the surprise more satisfactorily in the dying moments. Nevertheless, our two ladies proved to be most amusing company for the duration and had clearly mastered the script and invested their characterisations with style and panache.

'Early Blight' was the next scene and marked an abrupt change of atmosphere on the seafront. Elderly Helen (Joanna Lovelle) and her daughter June (Andrea Nixon) wrestled with skeletons which had come tumbling out of the closet (or rather, the broken vase) leading to an examination of lives which had been blighted by lies and regret. Again, I thought this was rather an underpowered little scene which, try as they might, the two performers couldn't really lift to any great height but nevertheless, both Joanna and Andrea brought a dignity and realism to the piece with their committed performances. There was an emotional honesty to the performances which was rather wasted on the rather hollow and dreary tale which resulted.

'Cruise Missile' saw us on deck as poor Janet is harassed by on-board pest Goldie, one of those busybodies and organisers of everyone's lives which we in the am dram world bump into on a regular basis! Tammy Mason's long-suffering Janet eventually got the upper hand over Alison Bell's Goldie - a prize portrait of one of those irritatingly bouncy interfering types who always knows best - and provided an excellent end to the first act. Alison's performance was a little gem: frustratingly overbearing and comically dreadful at the same time and with a costume which suited the character perfectly to boot!

Act two began with 'Theatrical Digs' with our two female thespians rubbing each other up the wrong way. Jean Leigh and Kathleen Watkins portrayed the two initially very different 'types' very well indeed and successfully engendered the atmosphere of bitchy one-upmanship which seems to be de rigueur whenever actors rub shoulders! There was one rather awkward moment where a humorous line about a surfeit of prompting being needed in a past production followed hot on the heels of an unfortunate bout of 'real life' prompting being needed on stage: a case of art imitating life, or a slyly postmodern take on the script?! Either way, it made for an interesting moment!

Our final scene revolved around a works outing to the seaside, where Doris and Beryl have decided to take some time out from the rest of the merrymakers for a little peace and quiet. Neely Jillings and Charlotte McConnel offered us a lovely pair of characters whose gently humorous meanderings came face to face with a surprising finale in the shape of a nudist beach.  Again, the acutely observed characterisations seemed a little wasted on the flimsy narrative which played out but nevertheless, both our talented actors gave great value as always. 

I have to say that I felt the evening was a little uneven in tone, due in no small part to the rather flimsy source material. All the performers had obviously worked so very hard to try to lift the material into something a little more edifying than the scripts could deliver and for that, the team are to be applauded. 'Cruise Missile' was perhaps the most successful of the scenes but even it outstayed its welcome when it became clear where the thrust of the narrative was heading. 'Shoppers' could possibly have made for a snappy and comical sketch as part of a revue but again, wandered along without much to say - or really very much in the way of humour - for far too long before springing it's surprise. Again, this is no fault of the Arts Club team who certainly added a  lustre to the material with careful staging and great characterisations across the board. Something of a curate's egg in the final analysis but as always, there is no disputing the efforts of the Arts Club team in both offering something new and different to the theatrical scene and always providing a thoughtful and interesting approach to any project. My thanks as always for a warm welcome and I wish you all well with preparations for the next season.

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