Quartet

Quartet is a play by Ronald Harwood.  It features four retired opera singers who all reside in a care home.  The story follows the quartet as they rehearse for an upcoming concert, whilst reminiscing about the past.  I was very pleased to accept the society’s invitation to this production, and it was lovely to catch up with its members.

The scenery was very well constructed and well used.  The society always use their limited space well and this particular set was no exception, offering the actors multiple entrances and exits and plenty of room for the action to take place.

During ‘scene changes’, music was provided by pianist Gwyn Morgans.  He played really well and this was a nice touch.  He was even called upon to deliver a few lines of script, which he did well.

Reggie was played by Mike Gelder.  I was really impressed with Mike’s character and delivery.  He had excellent facial expressions, and the audience really understood his troubled mind.  Well played, Mike.

Bev Jones played the role of Cissy.  She had a nice character and good presence.  On occasion, the diction in her delivery could have been clearer.   This was a difficult role to play with her character showing signs of dementia, with many of the lines being very similar but Bev did a good job of this.

Jean was played by Ceri Murphy.  She played the over-the-top opera singer, finding it difficult to overcome the fact she was no longer a star.  This was a nice performance from Ceri with a good character portrayal.

Anthony Cannon-Jones triumphed as the larger-than-life Wilf.  He had excellent comic timing and had really worked hard to develop both the physical and mental aspects of his character.  Nicely done!

Thank you RATS, for a lovely evening of entertainment.  A nice way to end my visits to your society this year.  I look forward to seeing you all in 2026!

 

 

 

The views in this report are solely of the author.

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