The Safari Party

The director’s notes in the programme contained a brief synopsis of the play and this was valuable information. Talking to your producer during the 1st interval gave me background on your choice of play on this occasion. In presenting a play that has three scenes with three major sets is a big ask of any drama club ... drama clubs often chose plays with one fixed set for ease and pace. The biggest drawback to this play was ... three sets. Two twenty minute intervals present quite a lot of down time during a relatively short play where each scene lasted no longer than 35-40 minutes. I’m afraid continuity was lost with each interval. The three different venues in the story were well designed and sufficiently different from each other giving added value and interest to the play ... so well done to the designers, props and crew who had to create the very good settings in the short time available. 

The concept of this satirical comedy revolved around 6 people meeting and moving to each of their homes for a starter, then main course with finally a dessert for a ‘safari’ style dinner party and how their lives have interacted with each other, the common factor being a kitchen table.

The opening scene is set in the ‘Shellmedine’ farmhouse kitchen, a decrepit room with little or no fittings except an ironing board (a rather incongruous prop with so little else in the room). The brothers Daniel and Adam Shellmedine are supposedly supplying the starter to guests Lol and Esther Voysey and daughter Bridget, a family who are obviously social climbers from a poor background and Inga Healy an eccentric antiques shop owner.

In the second scene Esther Voysey supplies the main course to the Shellmedine brothers (they had all upset Inga Healy in the first scene and she refused to attend). This scene is nicely set in an attractive conservatory in the Voysey’s barn conversion.

The final scene is set in the outer store of Inga Healy’s antiques business where matters come to a head and the play concludes. This final set was a mega masterpiece of junk, rubbish and many old tables, again well done to props team.

This was a difficult play to follow, in part because of Daniels’ diction, excellent acting but impaired by trying to create a strong a Cheshire accent and also because of lack of projection from Bridget when there were no personal microphones.

The opening scene suffered from slow cueing and therefore the pace suffered. But in Act two the play suddenly came to life with the audience picking up on the occasional comedy and strong emotions of the characters. The final scene brought a surprise ending and the smallish audience finally showed their appreciation with polite applause.

There were very strong and accomplished performances from Nikki Court and Marcus Palmer as Lol and Esther Voysey, their diction was immaculate and their comic timing impressive. Ben Williamson as Adam demonstrated good stage presence, although he was rather frenetic at times. Inga’s role was practically a cameo but was performed well.

Because the play was heavily concerned with non-words ... Cheshire ‘rural myths’, (‘Tollycurney’ and ‘Buttyball’) it was tricky to follow, but I personally appreciated all the performances and the effort made to bring the story to life. This was a clever piece of writing from Tim Firth (Calendar Girls fame), almost too clever, but Taunton Thespians bravely ‘gave it life’ and did so with enthusiasm and obvious experience from a good director Ray Court.

 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.