Semi Detached

This was a comedy set in the Sixties involving a family the head of whom was an ambitious Insurance salesman, his wife, keeping up appearances, and their three offspring, with their partners. Peter Bradley playing Fred the father, had a massive part alternating between his overwhelming ambition, family and his model trains. He tackled it well with all the nuances of his pretty complicated life. His wife, Hilda played by Jeannie Metcalf was superb in trying to reconcile all the emotional traumas of all the family members and their appurtenances, to say nothing of the neighbours. Felix Cuthbert as son Tom was an insouciant and believable older teenager, Eileen older daughter, (Jay Garland), living with the married Bob and proud of it. Bob, (Felix Yates) a bemused character, was he a lover or maybe a mechanical engineer with a model locomotive? Both these two acted well. Avril (Claire Williams) the 2nd daughter, produced some great tantrums and hysterics and Nigel her husband (Daniel Williams) was a really pompous Mother’s boy until they both got it together in the final romp! His Mum Garnet (Pat Mortimore) as an upper class person played a strong role and all these last three did well. Finally, Arnold (Tony Money) the employer, being manipulated by Fred also did well. It was good to see five newcomers in the Players. It was an impressive set and the props and the period costumes were fine, as was the lighting and sound. The play rather lost direction in the second act, it was too long; that’s the fault of the writing however, and you, Katrina, and the cast and produced a worthwhile show.

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