Power and Petticoats

Having discovered the Attic Players two years ago, I was expecting a high standard from their latest production, Power and Petticoats and I am glad to say I was not disappointed. The script, which tells the story of the Suffrage movement through the eyes of the Markham family and their household staff, was intelligently written by Director Melanie Davies. The piece was a series of short scenes which were the result of workshops with the cast. This creative and collaborative approach can work well, giving everyone involved a sense of ownership. Certainly, everyone on stage remained 100% present and committed throughout.
The family were represented by their gold coloured waistcoats and belts, which was an effective way of helping the audience to quickly understand the fast-paced scene changes, with cast members switching between a range of characters. Everybody on stage moved very confidently, with every action obviously meticulously planned. This attention to detail, paired with some demanding and physical choreography gave some lovely visual moments. I particularly like the cell walls and the boxing match, although some dialogue was lost due to the physical excursions of the actors playing the two boxers.
With a small cast of nine, all of whom remained on stage most of the time and no interval, there really was nowhere for the actors to hide in this performance. Lines were faultless and delivered confidently and on-stage costume changes were slick, as were the scene changes. I did question why there was a file on stage that appeared to be a script, which the cast members sitting on the sides of the stage were following during  scenes they were not active in. In my opinion, it was not necessary as this was a well-rehearsed and slick production. With so many solid performances from the whole cast in this ensemble piece, everyone on stage deserves high praise, but I will say that the two female monologues were particularly well acted and most poignant.
Kay Buck’s costumes were spot on and lighting and sound by Pete Mount and Jack Woolley were very effective, especially the use of projected material.
Power and Petticoats was a clever and thought-provoking piece of home grown theatre of which you should all be very proud. Bravo Attic Players.

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