The Devenish Curse

The audience was greeted by a pleasant tabletop arrangement in the village hall, with time to digest the set which was on view on the stage before the action began. A well-dressed living room in an old ancestral hall, with rather imposing “wooden” panels creating a sense of foreboding before the play even began.

The audience was then brought well and truly into the 21st century by the Oscar winning delivery of the formal Health and Safety notices, injecting energy into every corner of the room!

The play itself opened to an amusing setting of the scene by the Aunties double act of Yvonne Hannant as Wendy Baines and Tracey Murray as Pauline Braddock, both actors clearly enjoying their roles throughout the whole show. They ran the house between them, as the 2 domestic staff members, putting the nervy Susie Devenish, well played by LIzzie McMillan, firmly in her place.

Becky Monk provided some much needed sanity as Susie’s friend Dr Judy Baxter, convincingly playing the only truly rational character surrounded by a group of eccentric and/or incompetent personalities.

Matthew Fyleman certainly knew how to milk his part as Patrick West, getting the audience on his side even when he was suspected of committing the murder after confessing to making up the whole curse story. His scene with the online dating episode delighted the audience, marred only by the lid of the laptop blocking half of his face.

Steve Dunn gave a well-balanced portrayal as the seemingly efficient but in fact greatly incompetent DI Trench, Will Murray beautifully overacted the egocentric almost has-been Claude De Roy and Suran Jayathilaka’s Jago Fewtrell was deliciously over the top in his fabulous blazer and matching shoes. A big congratulations must be given to the two first timers: Colin Ridout as the somewhat suspicious Father Bob and Toby Sutton-Long as PC Pendlebury. Toby conveyed the naive, inept young policeman with such comic timing that it was hard to believe he was new to the stage. His stage presence was masterful, especially in the scene where he landed between the two Aunties from the back of the sofa, and when he discovered the body in the chest. Well done to these two actors and to Stuart Savill in his first directorial role with NATS.

The actors all achieved great characterisations, but their performance was let down at times by the pace. This could be improved by less reliance on the prompt, who perhaps could have been hidden from the audience behind a screen, so that attention was not drawn to him quite as much, and by snappier entrances and exits more in keeping with the chaotic farcical nature of the comedy. The energy on stage could also have been aided by not only doing away with the blackouts between the scenes: there were no changes to the set, so the cast could have just entered to the sound of the ticking clock to denote time passing, rather than the lengthier blackouts with clock ticking, but also by the set itself. Its design and construction were excellent, but the dark windows could have benefited from being lit behind, or having a painted backdrop showing through them, as the action was taking place during the day. 

What makes a good show, more than anything, is how it is received. The cast had the support of the audience throughout, booing and cheering them on and having a wonderful time. So well done to one and all, experienced or novices, for such an enjoyable production.

 

 

 

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