The Shell Seekers

This is the story of Penelope Keeling and her family and deals with the love and heartbreak from the time of her beloved father to her love for her three children Nancy, Olivia and Noel. The action takes place during the months  February to  September 1985.  There are flashbacks to events between 1939 and 1944.

After her time in hospital, she is determined to be independent with the help of Ellen, her beloved housekeeper and friend.  She re-calls her life, passions, tragedies and secrets, her Bohemian childhood and the wartime romance with Richard, the true love of her life.  She was deserted by her husband, but always in her heart is Cornwall, where she was the happiest.  Cornwall is where she wants to go, but her children are far too busy with their lives to take her.

Penelope's prize possession is The Shell Seekers" painted by her father, and she and the family discover that the painting is now worth a small fortune.  Her children are determined to get their hands on it one way or another causing family arguments.  They try to persuade their mother to sell the painting, but only Penelope can make that decision which will determine if they can survive as a family or divide.

Congratulations to Julie on  first class directed and well thought out production.  The basic set worked extremely well, with the play moving numerous times from 1940's to the 1980's . The sound and lighting effects were excellent and made it very clear where and which period of time we we watching.  Having the cast changing outfits certainly gave  the concept that present times was also  moving forward.  The pace of the direction  and dialogue were excellent and flowed well from scene to scene.  The cast were very confident and excelled in their roles.

Gloria Elford Box was outstanding as Penelope Keeling. The copious amounts of dialogue flowed with great ease and Gloria performed this character with confidence and empathy. Sue Briggs portrayal of Olivia, a successful business woman, was excellent, as was her outfits.  She also brought out a softer side to Olivia when defending her mother against her siblings.  Tracey Briggs played the role of Nancy with  her standard of living exceeding the income of George, her husband.  This was also an  excellent performance, making it very clear that she did not suffer fools as at, especially  George, and thought that her mother should have been "put in a home".  George  played with ease  by Mark Sanderson, the downtrodden hard-working husband, and had his patience pay-off at the end of the play when he told Nancy to shut up.  Noel, the uncaring son who has only his own interest at heart, wants his mother to sell other paintings by her father to raise  money for himself was played with perfection by Greg Muscroft.  Ellen, the caring housekeeper/companion, always concerned for Penelope's well-being was effortlessly played by Sue Martin.    Yasmin Angove-Middleton alternated between the roles of young Penelope and Antonia the daughter of the late Cosmo, who was the love of Olivia's life.  Lee Sanderson also took on two roles, Richard, Penelope's war-time romance, and Danus the gardener employed by Penelope.  Danus of course falls in love with Antonia, mirroring the love of Penelope and Richard.  Yasmin and Lee were splendid in each of these roles.   Lawrence played by Mark Kilburn-Stones: although we only had a glimpse of his life when the play flashes back to the war years, Mark gave a sterling performance of the Bohemian famous painter.  Frank Bardsley gave a first class performance as Ray Brookner the art dealer.

The company must be congratulated for their involvement in such an excellent production .  Les and I thank you for your hospitality and a most enjoyable evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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