Sheila’s Island

Tim Firth’s play, Shelia’s Island, relates to four women, Sheila, Denise, Julie and Fay, who are on their company’s annual outward-bound team-building weekend in the Lake District. Things go terribly wrong when Sheila, as the nominated team leader, unwittingly gets them going in the wrong direction on the lake. This causes them to crash into a pile of rocks and their boat then capsizes forcing them to swim to an island. With all their kit now at the bottom of the lake, they try and make the best of things but don’t have much idea how to survive without their supplies. During their time together, personalities begin to clash and tempers fray. Instead of working together, accusations and downright offensive comments are made to each other, and things soon come to a head.

This well-thought-out production by Tudor Players was expertly directed by Phil Gascoyne. A very impressive set certainly looked like a fog-bound and uninhabited island, with sound effects and music to suit. The ladies’ outfits matched their characters and at the outset, their wet hair and clothing really did make them look as if they had just been thrown into the water.

Sheila, trying to keep everything and everyone under control, is being very positive even though it was down to her lack of navigation skills that the group are in this mess. Denise is constantly finding fault with everything, all the while making sarcastic and offensive comments. Julie thinks she is above everyone else and is very reluctant to share what she has in her rucksack. She also has a nasty side to her, especially towards Fay, who is struggling with her mental health and eventually finds solace in God and becomes a devoted Christian. However, Julie constantly calls her doolally.

These four experienced and talented actors, worked very confidently together giving first-rate performances, understanding perfectly not only their characters, but those of their fellow actors. A lot of work had evidently gone into how and what made these characters “tick”. They brought out humour, sarcasm, pathos and scenes of anger in equal measure, all of which I am sure was felt by the audience. Diction, pace, and deliverance of the dialogue was very good throughout.

Sheila, as head of the team, tries her best to keep the peace and boost morale while having to take on all the blame for their situation. This character had a lot to contend with and Jan Ibberson’s interpretation and performance was excellent.

Denise’s hard-hearted character with a chip on her shoulder was played to perfection by Edwina Gascoyne. She had numerous scenes of verbal anger, with matching body language and emotions and her timing of the funny one liner was spot-on. A brilliant characterisation.

Julie was above herself, said what she thought and didn’t really care about other people’s feelings. However, as the play progresses, we begin to see another side to her character and Rhiannon Jones manipulated this character with skill and flair.

Fay was struggling with mental health issues, especially with Julie constantly tormenting her because of her faith, interest in birdwatching and constant chattering. It wasn’t until the end of the play when the reason for her mental illness came to light. During a very tense scene we thought she would end her life,  thankfully that proved to be far from her mind. Charlie Gascoyne-Thompson gave a superb performance as Fay.

The final scene was a surprise, but the ladies all ended up as friends again and made it home for a hot shower.

Congratulations to everyone involved in this successful production, not forgetting the input of hours of hard work, rehearsals, and teamwork.

Many thanks for the invite and a wonderful evening at the theatre.

Sue Cox. - Drama Rep   N.E Region 14

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