The Last of the Haussmans

Nantwich Players were back on stage with their production of Stephen Beresford’s ‘The Last of the Haussmans’, which was directed by Maximilian Clay. The set looked fantastic, and instantly transported the audience to the outdoor area of the Haussman family home. It was great having glimpses of the mess inside the house as well. The direction from Maximilian was secure, and he allowed the various relationships to play out well. The family relationships and dynamics were wholly believable. Blocking and stage positions were good, with natural movements. Generally speaking, the pace was good throughout, especially in the scenes. Scene changes were done by the cast. Some of these changes were complex, and thus impacted the pace of the production. The cast did well in the scenes to bring the pace back up, and attacked each scene, telling the story well. The costumes worked well for each character. From the Snoopy nightdress of Judy to Dr Peter’s sharp suit in the second act. The attire for the funeral was individual and unique to each character, fitting their personalities.

Technical elements were good throughout. The lighting showed different times, with a general wash for daytime scenes, with a subtle change to scenes that were in the evening, with a hint of blue used. The patio style lights that came on during the evening scenes were a clever touch. The sound was good where used, with music cues throughout. It was loud when it needed to be, and used well during scene changes.

Janan Chopra burst on to the stage with energy as the aging hippy, Judy Haussman. She had a magnetic presence on stage, and drew the audience in. Her line delivery was top notch, and she brought the words to life. Janan brought humour to the role, as well as an emotional depth, which was especially prevalent in the second act. The final moment with Janan, Catherine and Stephen was beautifully staged and acted.

Catherine Moore played Libby Haussman. This was a strong performance from Catherine from the start. She conveyed a range of emotions throughout and created believable relationships with each character. From the strained relationship with her daughter to the complicated relationship with her mother, there were many facets that Catherine explored within the character.

Stephen Clay played Nick Haussman. There were many layers to this complex character that Stephen did well to convey. From his relationship with his over-bearing mother to the initial attraction to the much younger Daniel, Stephen explored a range of emotions through his performance, and created a complete character.

Pippa Watkin played Summer Haussman. Pippa gave a pleasing performance as Summer, as she explored the fraught relationship with her mother. She came across as a stroppy teenager, which worked well for the character. She was full of life when describing her time in France, which was a marked contrast to how she had been with her mother.

Matthew Pascall played the mysterious Daniel. Matthew did well bringing this character to life, adding a sense of intrigue to the character as he skulked around the set. There were moments where Matthew could have projected more to ensure that his lines could be heard.

Chris Langston played Dr Peter Oram. This was a solid performance from Chris with a very interesting character. Chris showed different sides of the character, from the happy and care free attitude in the first act to the professional and cold character he presented in the second act.

Overall, this was a good production. There were some good, believable performances; the set looked great; and there was sensitive direction.

A big thank you to everyone at Nantwich Players for their kind invite and hospitality.

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