Taking Steps

What a great fun night out! The ANTs produced Alan Aykbourn’s ‘Taking Steps’ with great wit and timing that left an audience with ribs thoroughly tickled! Aykbourn’s play is filled with characters that, on paper, can seem quite dry and lifeless. In fact his plays can be terribly boring if not handled well, so I have to admit to driving into North Tawton with a little trepidation. I don’t know what I was worrying about! The characters developed by the director and his cast were certainly no shrinking violets and delivered a great night’s entertainment. Chief amongst those responsible for hilarity was the character of Tristram Watson, played by the director himself. When he first made an appearance and delivered his first lines I felt the whole audience do a mental double-take at the apparent stumbling jumble of dialogue he delivered, and kept delivering throughout his performance. Brilliantly done! I kept having visions of Stanley Unwin and his gobble-de-gook language skills that also tripped off the tongue so easily - Watkins was similarly gifted with his stammer and jumbling of words that seemed effortless.

Some good characterisations from the rest of the cast as they worked themselves into a frenzy kept the pace going (with maybe a small slip in a couple of spots), with some great moments from Kitty (who had far too little dialogue) and Roland. Roland managed to keep the rest of the cast on their toes as he skipped a few lines here and there, but also managed to deliver some perfectly timed comedy moments and kept up his strong, pompous, creatively alcoholic persona to the end. Elizabeth gave us some lovely moments of panic and dreaded realisation when she realised her ‘romantic’ error the previous night - not to mention some ‘lovely’ dance moves! Similarly her brother, Mark, gave us some giggles with his amazing ability to induce sleep in his fellow cast. A beautiful, droning character flaw that reached it’s peak when he put himself into a deep sleep! The scene wouldn’t be complete without the fall guy, who came in the shape of Mr Bainbridge (complete with bike leathers and helmet!). Not as animated as some of the others, Bainbridge was more of a plaything for the other to toy with - particularly when, mistaken for an intruder, he’s thrown about by Elizabeth and Mark (ending in a very unflattering position!).

Considering the size of the hall’s stage, the ANTs made great use of the space by splitting the action, which is based around 3 rooms, onto 3 levels - high at the back of the stage, stage height and out into the auditorium for the lowest level. This was a very nice idea, not just from getting all the settings interacting together, but also by breaking the barrier of the proscenium arch and making for a more engaging experience for the audience. A good combination of stage lights and bedside lamps made the split between rooms even more convincing - and I loved the attention to detail as cast members entered rooms and fumbled for the light switch on the invisible wall. Good timing from the tech desk at the back of the hall made that work very well!

Similarly to the lighting setup, sound effects were a combination of pre-recorded creaks, drops and thunder, alongside doors banging in the wings made by the cast.

I feel like I’ve gushed a bit too much, but this was a good show. Sure, there’s always room for improvement, but this really felt like a production made successful by a company pooling their skills and ideas with the guidance of a strong director. I’m looking forward to whatever is next!!

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