Sheila's Island

The strong team at BDC presented a typically polished and forthright production at the Blackburn Empire with the comedy ‘Sheila’s Island’. As always with chucklesome plays such as this, the more serious themes which lie under the surface were present and bubbled away beneath the jolly antics of the ladies quite nicely.

The star of the show for me was the fantastic set: a wonderful piece of stage design and technical mastery which was incredibly impressive. Sheila’s Island was recreated on the stage at the Empire in fine style, complete with a watery moat which our beleaguered quartet sloshed through with great aplomb and were soaked to the skin! I also appreciated the clever way in which the cast list in the programme gave the audience a little pen portrait of each of the characters. This was a very witty way to both expand on the characterisations and add a welcome humorous touch to the programme: something too often overlooked as part of an audience's theatrical experience. 

Suzanne Nolan was all fuss and bluster as Sheila, the team leader to beat all team leaders on Pennine Mineral’s ill-fated team building exercise. Suzanne was every inch the scatty but well-meaning crossword buff in charge of her disparate gang of work colleagues. The lengthy section of the play where Sheila solved all of the treasure hunt style clues with her superior powers of deduction - only to upended by a much more straightforward reading of the tasks in hand - was particularly well handled.

Joanne Shepherd was a fiery roustabout rebel as Denise, the firm’s loose cannon. Hating every moment of the pointless team building exercise (everybody in the audience who has been through a similar ordeal could easily identify with Denise!) and the soggy predicament the girls found them in. Joanne gave a wildly energetic and humorously down to earth performance which entertained a packed house. 

The always dependable Neely Jillings was a tonic as Julie, the irritatingly upright member of the gang (despite being comically blinkered where husband Angus and his ‘supermarket trips’ are concerned) and her ditzy credulousness was very well expressed. 

Heather Roberts completed the line up as Fay, the birdwatcher with a troubled soul who had a few inner demons to wrestle with during her enforced stay on the island. Heather did a good job of making Fay very much the ‘outsider’ in the group and her thoughtful monologues were very well delivered.

Technical support was very well handled by the boys at the Empire with great work from the sound and lighting team. The staging was of a very professional standard with the set building, blocking and the directorial thrust all working together to create a top notch evening’s entertainment. Well done Paddy - this was a great team effort which looked great and had obviously been a labour of love from everyone involved at BDC. I’m sure I also heard the dulcet tones of Paul Mason in a jolly voiceover role as the DJ onboard a passing barge…!

The humour of this play was allowed to breathe while at the same time, the exploration of the deeper themes - however slight and inconsequential - were not glossed over. There was a real feeling of teamwork (real teamwork that is, rather than the useless folly of corporate 'teamwork' sent up quite marvellously by the play) on display and the whole evening was a delight. This was another example of live theatre having the capacity to engage with an audience and provide much more than offer up a mildly diverting hour or two. The fantastic staging, combined with the whole theatrical package of performance, costumes, lighting, sound, props (etc etc…) was a first class lesson in how an amateur society can bring a touch of magic to enrich the culture and community.

Many thanks to all at BDC - keep up the good work!

 

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