Stepping Out

Considering Square Drama is a small society, working in a small hall, they certainly made the most of the space available to them - I was impressed with their production of Stepping Out. The whole cast had bought into the tap element, and the last number was really good - nicely put together and obviously well-rehearsed. The characters were mostly good and the whole production rolled along with pace. I liked the frontcloth, it echoed the feel of the play, The use of the front left side thrust also helped the dynamics and helped with the impression of Mrs Fraser actually playing the piano – as the sound came from the right place! Very well synchronised. The costumes were very colourful, and whilst a couple were a little OTT, they made the whole production look lively, and added to the energy of the cast. I’m not saying it was perfect, but the feelgood factor and range of emotions were all there. Tammy Calvert gave us a good portrayal of Mavis the dance teacher, showing the right amount of justified frustration with her motley crew of dancers. Tammy had mastered the tap dancing well, and overall got a really good character. I loved Jean Smy as Mrs Fraser – a fine character, and such a contrast to the others – good diction, and loads of emphasis, Jean also gave the impression she was actually playing the piano by getting her hands and arms moving in the right places at the right time – very well done. Chris Fletcher was a suitably shy and retiring Geoffrey, he accomplished the changes behind the screen well, however I wanted more made of it, as it is a comedy moment that was missed. But again, Chris achieved a good character. more emphasis and intent behind some of the words, would have brought out the humour. Vera, the posh lady with a touch of ocd, was very nicely played by Victoria Goode. I would have liked to have seen more of her face, as there was good expression going on there, but slightly concealed by her hair. Very good on the costume front, really suited the character. Maxine the organiser, was well-played by Rose Brown, always with a leotard, shirts or other items obtained for her fellow dancers – a real wheeler-dealer, well-studied and delivered. Sarah Furniss as the rather loud Sylvia, with her companion Donna Fletcher, as Rose who had very colourful wigs, made a nice partnership against the other slightly more refined class members, they both did well. I felt that Sarah was probably more experienced, as she seemed to give a more rounded performance, but Donna gained in confidence over the course of the play. Mark Sussams and Carl Fletcher, assisted by Rob Albone, showed that they are capable of making directorial decisions that made the play feasible and believable. Laura French was a good Dorothy – I liked the way she tackled the fact that she needed to look after her bicycle, and her reaction when Sylvia blamed her for her husband getting into trouble, because of where she worked. Bridget Calvert as the stalwart of the class, Lynne, kept the feel of the caring person, who also had some ideas she thought would be worth consideration. A good foil to the other characters. Sabina Jackson was really good as Andy, she got the slightly withdrawn character making it utterly believable that her husband was knocking her around – I thought she gave an accomplished performance. Vicky Cox and Naheen Ali performed a nice number, with Netty Batchelor showed some lovely lines with her arms and good work on tiptoe, when performing her number. Stephen Parry and Daniel Morris completed the line up as the stage manager and his assistant, which complemented the rest of the cast. We enjoyed the evening, and the play, it was very entertaining.

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