The Dumb Waiter/A Little Box of Oblivion

What a delightful way to spend an evening watching two one-act plays, with an interval for a Fish and Chip supper and a bar helping to make the whole a really social event. 

Both the shows were new to me and, not being a great Pinter fan, I have to admit that I enjoyed the second one by Stephen Bean more but this in no way decries the excellent acting of Simon Vyvyan as Ben and Martin Sworn as Gus.

For those that don’t know the piece it lasts about 40 minutes, takes place in a basement room under a restaurant and the set consists of two beds and a Dumb Waiter. Both men arrive, make themselves at home and make it obvious that they are ‘hit men’ who are waiting for their target to arrive. The sound effects were excellent for the off stage loo and kitchen area and the Dumb Waiter which didn’t actually go up and down but we certainly got the impression that it did. The reasoning of the play was a bit beyond me, but the acting was outstanding. The two men both looked and sounded exactly what they were meant to be, their arguments were menacingly convincing and, throughout their use of pauses and body language left one wondering what would happen next.

The second play was very different and in many ways true to life. We are all aware that unattended packages cause concern and the box that was gently placed on the park bench next to ‘Cool’, played by Laura Thurnett, was no exception. The suspect ‘Woman’ with green hair, played by Meg Bray, hurried on her way leaving instructions that the box should not be moved. ‘Cool’ was unconcerned and continued to read her paper. Next on the scene was Claire Cossins, a totally neurotic female called ‘Neuro’ who convinced herself that it must contain a bomb. Laura and Claire gave performances of a life time and the contrast between their reactions made for a really hilarious production. They were well supported by Harry Rippon as ‘Dude’ and Helen Chewter as ‘Sleuth’ who both added some very amusing speculations as to the contents, acting their character roles with feeling. The return of ‘Woman’ made for a delightful ending.

The evening was a great success but I did feel it was a shame that they chose to perform on the hall floor rather than on the stage as it made very difficult viewing for the audience especially as in both plays the focal points tended to be either sitting on the bench or lying on the beds.

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