Take Away The Lady

Take Away The Lady, written by Jimmie Chinn, is a play set in the 1980s and the action takes place in the Doubleday family home. The set is good with a sofa and chairs looking just like a comfy family front room.

The play starts with Richard Owen, superbly played by Alan Ponting, and his wife Celia Owen, played by Francesca Tucker. The pair both work well together and are reading the newspapers - they have been called to the house by Lavinia. Emma Doubleday is played by Tess Kazim, she is sitting at the table playing cards, she gets easily worked up and has been put down by her sisters her whole life she lives at the house. Gildas Doubleday is played by Sophie Hills - she is the girls' sister-in-law and has arrived a bit later than the others. Lavinia Doubleday is played by Andrea Cutler. She has a strong presence on the stage and once Gildas has arrived she comes into the lounge to speak to them all. It turns out their brother Matthew Doubleday, played by Chris March, is on his way home still protesting his innocence having been released from prison, after serveing 15 years for allegedly murdering his mother. Charles Doubleday is the father and is played by Danny Lyons, he seems to be the only one who believes Matthew didn't do it. He also has a soft spot for Gildas and has helped her out over the years with money, much to his daughters' protests.

Director Anne Ponting has a good cast for this play, everyone is fully committed to their character, and the story comes across well. The sound and lighting are good, also there is a lot of attention to detail with the set. At the start of Act 2 we find out Gilda has gone missing, she is later found by Richard in the garage along with a suicide note. From here on we find out some of the family skeletons in the cupboard. It turns out Gilda had moved on, met someone else and had a child, Charles was the only one who knew. There is a lot of detective work going on with everyone, including the audience, trying to work out who really did kill their mother, and it's not until the end that the truth is revealed.

A great evening's entertainment, well done everyone.

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