See How They Run

I was warmly welcomed by Chairman, Alexander Bass who gave me details of the production. See How They Run is a very popular and well known comedy play, verging on farce and certainly the interpretation of each character was excellent with so many running around disguised as another character. Mayhem and misunderstandings were abundant !

Frank Bye was making his debut as Director for the group although he has directed and produced for other local groups and I congratulate him on this sparkling, hilarious performance from beginning to end.

I thought that the set was very well presented and portrayed the hall of the vicarage in Merton-Cum-Middlewick with sofa, tables and a good entrance/exit via windows at the rear of the set. Congratulations to the large team of set designers and builders for a most attractive setting which required no changes during the play. Stage Managers Tracy Lias and Collette Hindle helped to ensure that props were moved with the minimum of delay and fuss.

Now to the cast and what a very talented group they were. There was a great deal of fast moving script, which required impeccable timing and each character was played with enormous enthusiasm and ability. I believe that the prompt was redundant !

Kayleigh Murray, as Ida the maid, was a key character, seemingly naive and innocent but verging on insolence at the emerging chaos around the vicarage. Rosemary Sturgiss, as Miss Skillon, was a traditional spinster, rather aloof and protective of her role in church matters. She had some amazing facial expressions throughout. Her antics, whilst rather drunk (not being used to alcohol) were hilarious and her fainting fits very realistic. Well done, Rosemary. Miss Skillon resented the presence of the vicar’s wife, Penelope, who was very flambuoyant and extrovert, played by Rachael Welham. Penelope was married to The Reverent Lionel Toop, played by Sam Small who was suitably vague and compromising and the pair were extremely well cast. Keith Sippitt, as the German Intruder, an escaped soldier, struggled to maintain his accent throughout but nevertheless did well. David Thompson, as The Bishop of Lax, and Philip Beasley, as The Reverent Arthur Humphrey, were suitably vague and completely nonplussed by the mayhem going on around them. Charlie Vaughan, as Lance Corporal Clive Winton was trying desperately to understand what was happening (in particular the whereabouts of his uniform !) and Steve Mallary, as Sergeant Towers, tried hard to establish order and ascertain the facts.

Costumes were very relevant to the period of the play, as were the hair styles. Lighting and effects (Keith Harris) and sound (Alexander Bass and Vickiey Found) were very effective and the sound quality was particularly good.

I enjoyed this production so much and the audience seemed to love it, applauding every little twist and turn.

Well done to everyone involved. It was a great evening.

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