Sheila's Island

I always enjoy a visit to see Lichfield Players in the intimate setting of The Studio at The Garrick Theatre, Lichfield. However, this time, as I entered, I was immediately transported to a remote island where Sheila and friends would soon be inhabiting.

The set was completely different from the normal walls of a building; this time a back drop gave the impression of being out in the woodland and strategically placed rocks helped to give the idea of a rough terrain. My only disappointment was that it was billed as ‘A castaway comedy in thick fog’ but I didn’t see much fog.

Nominated as team leader, the well-meaning Sheila leads her team (Team C of Pennine Mineral Water Ltd.) into a foggy, chaotic mishap, causing them to capsize and abandon their equipment.  As they struggle to survive on the deserted island with low supplies, their professional camaraderie dissolves into petty arguments, home truths, and high-stakes emotional drama, despite being only 200 meters from safety. The play explores the tensions between the four, including the sharp-tongued Denise, the insecure Julie, the chaotic Sheila, and the fragile Fay.

Rebecca Hyland played the title character, Sheila, desperately trying to establish her authority on the group, but not always succeeding. She came across as well-meaning but not always effective in her role, just what was expected from her. Rebecca was very confident and definite in everything she did and succeeded in receiving sympathy from the audience when things didn’t go according to plan.

The sharp-tongued and increasingly dislikeable Denise who loves to ‘joke’, was played by Natalie Whittlesey and made an instant impression. It was obvious that she did not want to be there and enjoyed home comforts. Her presence on stage was imposing and Natalie’s body language matched the intonation of her voice and left no question as to how she was feeling about the situation.

Fay was played by Kerrie Short, a character who had suffered from mental health issues but had a strong faith, for which she was constantly tormented. Kerrie kept the character in the shadows, just as you would expect Fay to be, but those soliloquy moments were very moving, particularly when stood in a tree! During a very tense scene we thought she would end her life, thankfully that proved to be far from her mind and instead just wanted to pursue her interest of birdwatching.

Christina Thompson-Yates was making her debut with The Players as Julie. Julie thinks she is above everyone else and is very reluctant to share what she has in her rucksack. It was very ‘Mary Poppins-ish’, I was just waiting for the hat stand to appear! She also has a nasty side to her, especially towards Fay, constantly calling her doolally. This gave the impression that she didn’t care about people’s feelings but as the play progressed, Christina brought out another side to the character.

The four actors worked extremely well together and each character had their own mannerisms. 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”. Each of them brought humour, sarcasm and scenes of anger in equal measure, The pace of the dialogue was spot on and diction was very clear.

Congratulations to Rachel Kisley who directed the play, the attention to detail was obvious and this was apparent to all who saw the production. A very enjoyable and professional performance, congratulations to all involved.

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