Present Laughter

I expect the Bartholomew Players who first took to the stage in the local secondary school in 1975 would be impressed and delighted by the standards set by the modern company, and the Players chose to mark their fiftieth anniversary with a nod to their very first production, Noel Coward’s “Blithe Spirit”.  “Present Laughter” was originally written and staged at a similar time, and is a caricature of Coward’s real-life persona; Coward himself played the leading role of Garry Essendine during the opening run, and reprised the role in revivals and in overseas productions.

Portraying Garry is a significant physical challenge – Garry is onstage for most of the play – and mental challenge – he apparently has over 600 lines.  He is also a caricature of The Master himself, and the script provides clues to his personality: Joanna describes him as an “affected egomaniac” and refers to his taut, strained manner.  This portrayal perhaps possessed the irritated impatience of a busy man whose time is being wasted, rather than the amused superciliousness of a genius unconcerned by everyday matters – or other people’s feelings.  Nevertheless, many of Coward’s more celebrated traits were captured in the characterisation: witty, sometimes cutting ripostes were delivered at lightning speed, cigarettes were smoked stylishly, and Garry retained the air of a circus ringmaster even when some of the acts were going rogue.  It’s a bravura part and we were given a bravura performance.

Much of the play considers Garry’s relationships with women.  Daphne Stillington, a young actress, possesses a heady mix of radiance and innocence; Monica Reed, Garry’s secretary, knows him rather better than he knows himself, although “less intimately than some”; Liz Essendine, his estranged wife, has had to learn to be tolerant of Garry’s relationships and behaviours; while the predatory Joanna Lyppiatt is determined to add Garry to her list of conquests.  Add in nervous managers, an aspiring young writer and some weary staff, and you have all the ingredients for an entertaining evening.

The set featured all the necessary components for a forties farce: doorways to adjoining rooms, a short flight of stairs leading to the bedrooms, a glimpse of hallway and a window on the outside world.  I loved the playbill and signed photograph proudly displayed on the walls, and the Oscar-like statuettes adorning the bannisters.  The costumes further enhanced the look of the piece, with many of the characters provided with more than one outfit in keeping with the action taking place over a period of ten days.  Garry’s precisely calibrated pyjamas and dressing gown (and it was a nice touch to have Daphne and Joanna emerge from the guest room in the same pyjamas) contrasted with the managers’ less well-fitted but persuasively period suits, while several of the women benefited from stylish day-wear.

The cast was able to bring out the humour in the piece, and characterisation was consistent.  Cues were hit sharply, to the extent that the dialogue might have benefited from a little more breathing space here and there, and the blocking had been carefully thought through.

This was an accomplished and fitting celebration of fifty years of the Bartholomew Players, a production to impress and amuse in equal measure.  It’s easy to forget that this is a community theatre group performing in a village hall, and if the Players continue to produce plays to such a high standard, then I think they can look forward with confidence to the next fifty years.

© NODA CIO.  All rights reserved.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.