Sheila’s Island

It was lovely to be back with RATS at the Memorial Hall for ‘Sheila’s Island’, following the success of ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time’ earlier this year.  I was given a lovely welcome by the team and enjoyed chatting before the production and during the interval, so much so that I had to be escorted to my seat so each half could start! 

‘Sheila’s Island’ is a reworking of ‘Neville’s Island’.  The play features four ladies who have become stranded on an island in the Lake District during a team-building weekend.

The first thing that struck me was how great the set looked.  It was visually striking and well-constructed.  It allowed the performers the chance to use multiple levels and entrances.  Lighting in this production was very effective and well used.  I also enjoyed the relaxed nature of the ‘cabaret-style’ seating arrangement in the hall.

The four ladies in question: Sheila, Denise, Julie and Fay were played by Helen Blundell, Lesley Beckett, Helen Ward and Melanie McLeod respectively. They each had a different character, all with their own personalities and issues that arose as the play went on. The ladies all worked well together as they navigated through the production.  It was evident that there was a lovely bond between them all which came through in their performances which were all lovely. 

As with any comedy, delivery and pace are important and on occasion, pace and diction slipped which meant the cast didn’t get the laughs from the audience where they perhaps should have.  It is my personal opinion that the writing of the play didn’t help the talented cast in this regard either!  I’d love to see these ladies in something truly funny and well written!

Director Alison Hawkesworth is to be congratulated on delivering and entertaining production with a tough script.  A directorial debut to be proud of.

Thank you all for a lovely evening.  Looking forward to the next one!

 

The views in this report are solely of the author.

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