Stand and Deliver

What a wonderfully funny take on the comings and goings in a local maternity ward.  The play finds the funniest moments as four expectant mothers are about to give birth and explores the humour around their relationships, their anticipation and subsequently their very different experiences of child birth.  At times it was chaotic and hilarious and at other times sentimental and touching, but the laughter of the audience no doubt encouraged the performers and demonstrated that it was definitely well received.

The medical team of Dr Mathers (Jason Thorpe), Sister Mitchell (Julie Kidd) and Nurse Lindsay Walker (Donna Crabtree) were trying hard to manage a challenging situation of overcrowding in a hospital which sees births taking place on the maternity ward.  Thorpe was every inch the amorous Doctor who sadly didn’t live up to the expectations of Nurse Walker.  Kidd was super as the straight-laced nursing sister with a slightly wicked side.  Crabtree was hugely entertaining as Nurse Walker who also, at times, narrated the storyline through the fourth wall.  She had excellent timing and great delivery of some funny lines.  Supporting the medical team were hospital domestic staff Dot and Brenda, respectively played by Sue Leonard and Jill Booth.  There was a great comedy double act to their pairing and their many jokes and mispronunciations landed well.   Great work from them both which resulted in many laughs from the audience.

Megan Goodwin as Trish Meadows was very realistic as the embarrassed teenage daughter of her middle-aged mum who finds herself pregnant with a sixth child later in life.  The expectant fathers Clive Withrington (Jason Cherriman), Eric Meadows (John Hewitt) and Kevin Ward (Will Fealy) all played their parts to great effect.  Whilst they didn’t really make a huge success of supporting their respective wives they did manage to look suitably shell-shocked, panicked and anxious at just the right moments.  Maxine Mahon took the role of unsupportive mother, Mrs Greenwood, and perfectly captured the pompous ‘Mrs Bouquet’ type character who deserved to be brought down to size for her lack of consideration of her pregnant teenage daughter.

And the mums to be – Helen Fox as Lizzie Meadows, the calming influence on the ward with her many experiences of childbirth tried hard to support the ‘first-timers’.  Fox handled the sad ending to her storyline with sensitivity.  The role of teenage mum-to-be Michelle Greenwood was taken by Bella Dickinson who was utterly believable in her worry and sadness at the prospect of being made to give up her baby for adoption.  Olivia-Leigh Glazebrook was perfect as Nicola Ward the young mum to be striving for perfection and following all the guidance in ‘the book’ to the letter.  Glazebrook was really entertaining and her wide-eyed wonder at what she was being told by the more experienced women on the ward was captivating – a fabulous performance.  Harriet Tattersfield as pretentious Vivien Withrington was hilarious – every interaction, every affectation and her ultimate ‘awakening’ as to just how painful she was were delivered perfectly.  The delivery of her baby, which was largely seen within the play, was done with such passion.  All four ladies managed their ‘bumps’ very realistically and it was also evident that they had considered their physicality both whilst being pregnant and post birth.

The set was very realistic, with genuine medical beds, posters and equipment.   The limited size of the stage was not a problem and the strong direction ensured that it never appeared cluttered with entrances and exits being well used.  Costumes were perfect for the characters.  Sound and lighting was strong and projection from the actors was excellent.  There were some well-chosen music tracks between the scenes which definitely added to the atmosphere.

The play contains adult themes and strong language, but it was all handled incredibly well by the cast.  Overall it was a great evening’s entertainment and the cast and crew did a super job.  Congratulations to Director Chris Harrison, Producer Christine Harrison and all the cast and crew for their hard work in bringing this play to the stage.

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