The Devil Wears Trainers

Over the last couple of years, playwright Roger Goddard has carved a little niche for himself in the Norbury Players’ repertoire, providing a Spring comedy to get the laughs rolling in.  And this year he has done it again, with The Devil Wears Trainers following last year’s Men in Green and, before that, Addicts Anonymous.  Arriving with perfect timing to tie in with the release of the movie ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’, Roger’s latest effort turns its focus to charity fundraising, and the pitfalls that await those who bite off a little more than they can chew!

The story began with a meeting of the Friends of Dogwood Common – nicely set in a Village Hall type space at the rear of the stage.  This featured the somewhat bossy Committee Chairwoman Millicent (Joy Williamson), pernickety Treasurer Roy (Miles Nichols) and Committee members Alf (Colin Potter) and Jessica (Lesley La-Croix).  This was a well-realised scene, nicely acted – I could certainly relate to the need to decide whether the meeting was quorate and the hunt for someone to take the minutes.  Once the hapless Jessica had been forced into that role, there were laughs to be had at her inability to spell and habit of creating impenetrable acronyms! 

Searching for a way to raise money for their cause, the team decided at first upon a promises auction.  However, this was not a great success, despite Alf’s efforts to cook a Maryland Chicken featuring real Maryland Cookies!  Back at home, Alf was living with his son Jordan (James Talib) and his wife Robyn (Alisha James).  Both performers gave very natural performances and were believable as a couple.  Their home was depicted in a very good living room set downstage, in which most of the action was set.  Jordan, it turned out, was also engaged in some fundraising, competing in a sponsored marathon run for a heart charity.  But when Jordan injured his knee in slipping over the doormat (a nicely banal accident for one engaged in endurance training), Alf spotted an opportunity to take his place and the plot was set in motion. 

There was plenty of humour mined from Alf’s rather half-hearted attempts to train for his race – from his buying some running shoes at Poundland to his negligible attempts to warm up.  But he had an extra reason to compete – aiming to impress Jessica enough that she would, eventually, go for a drink with him after a Committee Meeting.  Back at their house, Jordan limped around very realistically, whilst Robyn’s attempts to give him a relaxing ‘massage’ (wink wink) were repeatedly interrupted by Alf.  The first half ended with yet another Committee meeting to monitor Alf’s progress, at the end of which he ‘jogged’ off to a strobe lighting effect and the strains of ‘Chariots of Fire’. 

There was good use of incidental music throughout this show, with ‘running’ themed songs such as Kate Bush’s ‘Running up that Hill’ and Bryan Adams’ ‘Run to You’ cropping up between scenes.  Lighting, too, was handled well, particularly to delineate the scenes set in the Village Hall from those in Jordan and Robyn’s house.  

Into the second half, and poor Millicent became increasingly frustrated at both Alf’s progress and at the remainder of her Committee's attempts to pursue an Open Day event on the common (although this plot thread was not really resolved).  Dog walkers (not to be confused with doggers) also came under her spotlight, as did the use (or not) of poo bags.  This certainly felt like an episode with its roots in real-life frustrations! 

Meanwhile, back in their living room, journalist Robyn plotted in secret to use Alf’s marathon running story for an article.  I wasn’t sure why she felt the need to keep this a secret – most fundraisers would be very happy to get some free publicity in the local paper – but the cloak and dagger element certainly added a bit of extra mystery to the story. 

It wasn’t long until Alf’s big day arrived and – despite him apparently doing barely any training – he managed to complete the marathon, to his son’s pride and amazement.  His reward – a date with Jessica, resplendent in an Indian-style blue outfit – wasn’t long in coming.  However, Roy, full of righteous indignation, put a spanner in the works with the revelation that Alf had taken a bus part way around the route, and therefore not completed the run at all.  I wondered if this might be the cue for a farce-style cover up of the truth, but Alf ‘fessed up and lumbered his son with the task of paying back all those who had donated to his fraudulent cause.  Family ties also didn’t stop Robyn plastering the tale of Alf’s disgrace across the papers, resulting in the poor chap’s date being cancelled too!

The story concluded with Alf – not apparently having learned his lesson – setting out to practice for a sponsored cycle ride.  Some people never learn, and Jordan’s exasperated sigh as the curtain fell told its own story! 

My congratulations to all at the Norbury for their staging of this show – it’s always good to see original work being supported.  If nothing else, it guarantees that I won’t be attempting to run any marathons any time soon!  I look forward to seeing you all again later in the year.

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