Tempest Tossed

Tempest Tossed is the revised award winning play written by Caroline Chattaway. The story follows a select group of immigrants and their descendants, showing their struggles with their lives in New York City and letting go of their homelands. Following the tragedy of the Titanic, Bess struggles to continue as normal, something a few of the others struggle to understand. The audience follow Bess as you learn more about her character and those who are part of her everyday life, showing the meaning of true friendship and how far people will go for the people they love.

Many of the casts returned to show off this new version of the story. Cassie Furey reprised her role as Bess, a British immigrant who found her new home in New York City working in a shop. The emotive nature of her character was well expressed, making you feel invested in Bess and wanting nothing but the best for her.

New to the role of Sal, Duane Hilton made the character his own. The nonchalant personality that fitted his character came through well and it was interesting to see the breaks in this persona when he would express his feelings for Bess, particularly in his character’s monologue.

David Hellyer made his Bedworth Theatre Company debut, taking on the role of Brendan. He carried himself well, airing the authoritative nature of a policeman well and transitioned will into the lighter scenes involving his character. His performance was well rounded and matched those he was performing with.

Due to scheduling difficulties, the role of Ruthie was played by Elly Meehan. She garnered an excellent performance, showing all the characteristics of a young woman wanting to do well by her family. Her performance was particularly impressive given that she herself was suffering with tonsillitis and had only taken on the role a mere 3 weeks before the show, something that was not evident in her portrayal of the character.

The supporting roles of * (Colin Udall), * (Kathryn Griffiths) and Philomena (Ginny *) were all impressively played, portraying the emotions of those who had left their homes behind well. * (Caz *) and * (Bintu *) made a small and well performed appearance that left the audience gasping. The array of accents were well done, showing the variety that this talented group are able to perform.

The lighting was skilfully done, leaving the actors to shine through the neutral lighting of the performance as well as reflecting the time of day that the scenes took place. The use of blue for the monologues gave the feel as though you were alone with the character, listening into their deepest thoughts. The set was based in and outside of the shop on a traverse stage, a well thought out staging as it opened all areas for the audience to see.

Bedworth Theatre Company took their award winning play and adapted it, bringing further life to the characters and showing off the talented writing of Caroline Chattaway and expert directing of Alison Smith once again.

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