Stopped Interrupting

I had never seen this play before and indeed did not know the writer, Nick Broadhead. He appears to be as enigmatic as his scripts as I was unable to find any background information.The Windmill Players had chosen this intriguing play for their Summer Production. Congratulations to Di Timmins, Director for developing a fascinating and unusual play within a play.

The curtains opened to reveal a solid looking and well constructed set with appropriate furnishings and props for this present day setting, however the action of the play took place on a stage depicting a living room and therin lay the first unexpected part of the piece.Although this play was a comedy Nick Broadhead had introduced many interesting moral issues including the protection of ones own property, plagiarism and lying about qualifications, all current controversial points.

We, the audience, were informed that a cast member was involved in an accident and a “stand in” actor who purported to be the author of the play, would take his place. Lance Mellor played by Alan Dickinson stepped into the role, despite the fact that he was too old for the part. We were just becoming accustomed to the action when a “member of the audience” stepped onto the stage, stopping the play and accusing Lance Melling of lying as she herself claimed to be the author of the play.

These unexpected events certainly kept the audience guessing and congratulations to Anne George as Beryl Pointer who was very convincing as “the real author”. The remainder of the play was centered around the personal life of Beryl and Lance( formerly Stephen Bradshaw) and indeed how the other cast members felt about the way their characters were portrayed.The cast worked very well together with excellent diction and projection and we were surprised by many aspect of this piece, which was played at just the correct pace.

Mark Edmonds was impressive as the juggling Sergeant Chetwynd and Marjorie Brown as the singing Julie Simcox.Mark Bowman as Dennis Simcox in the cameo role of the banjo playing paramedic was very amusing as he wrestled with his arm sling and the stretcher.Michael Gray as Ray Marple used all his obvious experience when trying to persuade the “authors” to show his character in a more flattering light and Alan Dickinson as Lance, coped well with his “ two” characters. I think he will have a few bruises by the end of the run.

The Windmill Players have a very good reputation for their talented members and the diversity of their productions and this piece shows that they are prepared to present something a little different for their audiences.

My wife and I enjoyed this, our first visit, to this Company and we look forward to any future productions.

 

 

 

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