THE COMEDY OF TERRIBLE ERRORS

A good vehicle for a talented if small cast, following the current trend for having the actors cover a multitude of characters.

The set was well thought out, and gave the cast plenty of leeway to act and interact on the small stage. 

Lighting and sound were good, and costumes, although a little basic filled the bill, I was a just a little perturbed that the ‘pants’ change didn’t fully grab me, until later in the play, as although I knew the basic premise of the original Comedy of Errors, I feel it would have been lost on others in the audience, as I was a little confused at times.

All credit to the cast for carrying on regardless of the younger members of the audience being a little over-enthusiastic at times!

Unfortunately the audience did not realise that the play had begun for either Act 1 or 2 –because the first part was operated with the house lights it took a while for us to engage, and I think some of the meaning was lost because of it.  That said Tristan Hall as Barney delivered the stage directions etc with aplomb.

Alex Greaves as Thomas gave us a very upbeat performance with excellent diction, and good understanding of his parts, of which there were several – I thought he did very well.  I particularly liked his take on the army character.  Alex delivered a very good rap – which was loudly applauded and commented on!

Claire Wilden played Andre, and again covered several other parts, she injected enthusiasm and very clear speech into her portrayals, interacting with the other characters. 

Kiera Bird was a charming Demetra, lots of asides and irony, marked well, giving us a good contrast to the other characters, A telling portrayal of her characters, very well achieved.

The final character was Ilona, played by Connie Wiltshire – good comic timing, and a very wry performance.  Connie knows how to raise a laugh and interact well with the audience and the cast.  Nicely done.

So – overall, I didn’t particularly like the play as such, but it was a very good cast, who acted their parts well at all times, and delivered some risqué language with composure, which caused great hilarity from our younger audience members!  I appreciated the hard work of the cast.

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