Season's Greetings

On entering the theatre one was faced with an excellent set, designed and constructed by Steve Onyon and his team. This was an achievement in itself.

Scene changes throughout were very well accomplished and the low level lighting allowed to players and crew to work quickly and effectively. Excellent props by Annie Dexter and her team and with costumes by Liane Burnett ensured the authenticity of the period. Incidental music and lighting was appropriate to the festive season and therefore, technically a good show.

“Season’s Greetings” is a play with humour, completely different to a comedy.   There are nine characters whose multi-layered relationships are explored at various times during the two Acts and it is full of home truths, with a good deal of pathos. Every member of the nine-strong cast showed total understanding of their role and of their relationship with the rest of the team.

John Wetherall was excellent as Harvey, the militaristic grumpy uncle with many years in the security business. Carl Westmoreland was equally convincing as Bernard, a dodgy, inept doctor with his penchant for putting on abysmal puppet shows. Helen Budd never went over-the-top in her portrayal of drink laden, lethal cook, Phyllis and Graham Lay gave a sympathetically understated interpretation of semi-detached loser, Eddie. Only Clive, the outsider, played by Mark Haumann, seemed totally well balanced but even he lost his cool when he and Belinda, the hostess, enthusiastically played by Andrea Brady, became passionate, with hilarious results when they accidentally set off one of the mechanical toys under the Christmas tree, bringing the rest of the household from their beds

Good performances were also given by Paula Hill as the believably pregnant Pattie and Pat Lay as Rachel. In the well directed drunken scene, with Mark Skrebels as Neville who proved that a good performance could also be given when being seen but not heard.

Ayckbourn’s writing is complex, with much interaction of speech, which can often make a good pace difficult, but not so here. The cast were well drilled and generally quick on cue. Having seen a production as well staged as this, it seems a shame that ‘Season’s Greetings’ is so rarely seen and then only at Christmas.

I enjoyed the production very much and the audience certainly enjoyed it the night I was there. Thank you for your hospitality.

Vicki Avery

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