The Odd Couple (female version)

This was my first visit to Blackburn Arts Club Theatre – and my first trip out as Noda rep for the new District 12, so this was always likely to be a memorable experience! This is quite a small and intimate theatre, which was perfect for this production. The theatre staff were very welcoming and put me at ease the moment I stepped through the door.
Now I remember the Odd Couple from the 70’s Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau and wondered how this would translate to the stage with female characters. I needn’t have worried as this play had me in stitches from the get go (as the yanks say). Olive and Florence the ‘Odd Couple’ were superbly played by Rachel Nolan and Alison Bell respectively, Rachel’s flat Brooklyn accent was perfect for the slobbish Olive, and Alison, a touch more Upper East Side also delivered. In fact all the girls did exceptionally well with the accents, all sounding slightly different but all clearly New York.
Sylvie and Renee played by Joanna Thomas and Jan Barker were great as was Mickey the laconic NYPD cop played by Lisa Marie Hunt. One of the highlights for me was Sara Ashton as the dizzy blond Vera – perfect timing and delivery, a real pleasure to watch. The scenes with all the girls were very well constructed, it’s always a worry of mine that during scenes with accents and quick paced delivery some of the humour might get lost, but in this performance every line was clear and understood and had the audience belly laughing right the way through!
Robin Brown and Tom Haworth delivered a good performance as the Spanish brothers Manolo and Jesus Costazuela. Not sure about Tom’s comedy moustache, but the audience seemed to like it! My only criticism, and I’m being really picky now, were the Spanish accents, which drifted into generic ‘foreign’ in places, but this pairing worked really well. The highlight in this part for me was the loaves and fishes line, you knew it was coming but perfect delivery by Alison still had us all rolling in the aisles!
The set and lighting were very good and when I saw how little wing space the performers have at this venue I’ll never moan again! How did you all get into the bathroom? Amazing!
Overall this was a very enjoyable evening and Therese Ball and her team should be very proud of this production, which I would highly recommend to other societies, particularly if you’re light on men (aren’t we all). I’m looking forward to my next visit and thanks for such a warm welcome.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.