Spirit Level

Thank you, Waddington Dramatic Society, for the warm welcome last week at your production of Spirit Level.  You delivered an engaging rendition of Pam Valentine’s ghostly comedy "Spirit Level," a play which navigates the afterlife of Jack and Susie Cameron, a wealthy couple tragically drowned in a boating accident. Denied entry to heaven due to Jack's staunch atheism, they return as spirits to their former country cottage, initially amusing themselves by pranking the pompous estate agent, Mark Webster, and deterring potential tenants.

The narrative picks up pace when aspiring crime writer Simon Willis and his pregnant wife, Felicity ("Flic"), move in. The ghostly couple become unexpectedly invested in the young pair's struggles—Simon's writer's block and Flic's "monstrous" mother, Marcia Bradshaw, attempting to separate them. In a desperate bid to help, Susie summons a wacky, mobile-phone-wielding Guardian Angel, whose "unorthodox method" of using mind control to aid Simon's writing leads to moments of great confusion and hilarity.

Gary Wright, as Jack Cameron, gave arguably his best performance to date. He perfectly captured the worn-down husband whose atheism grounded their afterlife in the cottage.  Charon Harmston delivered a bright, energetic, and fun performance as Susie Cameron, providing a lively counterpart to Jack.

Harry Lawrence (Simon Willis) and Abby Innes (Felicity) effectively portrayed the young couple's escalating frustrations. Harry maintained high energy and pace, utilising the whole stage with strong diction and funny facial expressions. Innes convincingly portrayed the physical aspects of pregnancy, particularly in her movements, such as the authentic struggle observed when standing up from the sofa.  She portrayed the whimsical side of Flic really well.

David Brown excelled as Mark Webster, the fussy estate agent. His interactions with the invisible Jack and Susie—reacting to floating items with priceless facial expressions—held the audience's attention. The tension he generated and maintained brought significant laughter.  Dee Horne portrayed the straight-laced mother-in-law, Marcia Bradshaw, with wonderful body language and hilarious responses to Susie’s unseen influences.  Julie Addison rounded out the cast as the Guardian Angel, providing a lovely performance with an impressive, sustained accent and a charming costume.

The set design, I noted, was a little plain, featuring a sofa, chair, practical door stage left, and curtained French windows to the rear with painted scenery beyond. However, the actors moved well within the space, and the use of subtle extra items like Christmas decorations, chair covers, and changing pictures effectively demonstrated the passage of time. A minor staging issue was observed with the desk set down stage left, where Harry Lawrence appeared slightly uncomfortable sitting at an awkward angle while working. Lighting, special effects, and sound had hiccups along the way, but I hope that your final 2 nights went better. Power issues can occur, especially when using village halls, yet I felt David Ridout managed well to cover, and I felt bad that things didn’t go quite to plan. (Sound Tech David Ridout and special effects and lighting Peter Cheseldine).

I felt the costumes were appropriate, fitting the characters and their situations. (Wardrobe Jane Kelly.) While I felt that more comedy could have been wrung out of the situations, the production was a solid, enjoyable effort by the Waddington Dramatic Society.  Your programme was an interesting read and will be entered into the 2025 NODA programme competition.

So overall, not the best production I have seen from Waddington Dramatic Society, it lacked the usual flair. Whilst the cast were good, the overall direction could have heightened the comedic timing and landed more laughs. Spirit Level has great comedic potential; perhaps the directorial vision didn't fully leverage every opportunity the script offered for maximum audience laughter. There were some highlights, for instance, the scene where Marcia was under the ghost Susie’s influence, and makes a play for Mark, were well done, was this good directing or was it the actors utilising their skills. At other times the pacing felt uneven in certain comedic beats, which might have blunted some of the jokes' impact. I felt directors Maria Wagstaff and Neil Markland focused on the other elements, such as the message of always being kind, and not wasting your life with unhappy arguments, which was admirable.

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