The Old People Are Revolting

Show report – The Old People Are Revolting

Since my age places me within the category of “old people” I was hoping that this play was not going to infer that old people are generally to be regarded as “disgusting” because of their habits but then why was a peg placed on the audience’s seats? Well, clarification was briefly covered in the introduction to this play and early in the opening there was a focus on Howie (Brian Branch), a character who experiences severe flatulence, the effect of which caused acute discomfort to his colleagues as they gathered in the community lounge.

The residents of the Sunshine Retirement Village occupy their own separate accommodation. The community lounge, being the equivalent of a village hall, is the place to meet and exchange gossip. This is a very convenient venue for the staging of this single-set play; it is where we are introduced to the various characters. Besides Howie they included Patricia-a former High Court Judge (Anne Fensom), Shirley-a former wild child/hippie (Lynne Rayner-Martin), Peggy-very much a sewing fanatic (Amanda Vickers), Gladys-a lady with impaired hearing (Carole Walker), Elizabeth-a lady suffering from memory problems (Liz Jarman), Nancy- a lady looking for love (Stephanie Barrett), Doug - a retired farmer ( Matthew Lee), Ashley - a young reporter (AmieWallace).Newscaster “Trevor MacDonald” – Richard Gregg, Reporters - Klare Ward, Emma Taylor and Val Gregg.

These old people might seem timid and mild mannered but they could easily be provoked! So it was quite thoughtless of the local council to dispense with the rebates available to the elderly and not expect them to revolt. Residents of the Sunshine Retirement Village declared it a separate state under the United Nations Charter, therefore no taxes would be payable to the Council. A new monarch was appointed, a new flag adopted and a new national anthem chosen. The local council had to be shown this group was not going to be pushed around, they were a force to be reckoned with, so they decided with the aid of Doug they would blow up a council owned tree, having enlisted the local Press to provide them with publicity.

Well cast with wonderful acting, this was a brilliantly funny performance. I can only advise politicians to beware; I think they are in for some tough times ahead! Thank you all who were involved in this show for representing our age group so accurately.  

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