Two Comedies and Cake

This was a delightful presentation of two short plays by local writer Nicholas Ridley. Both very different but each with a female only cast and well penned characters.

The first, Rude Awakening, involved four ladies at the Little Gissing Art Group’s annual exhibition and competition. A charming one act comedy with very different but very recognisable characters. The stage was set as a village hall, with various works of art displayed and a sign announcing the event.

Pauline, the bossy organiser, was brilliantly played by Wendy. Her sudden switch from ordering everyone around to her ‘posh’ telephone voice when dealing with the Major was hilarious. She had excellent comic timing and chivvied everyone along in the way often seen in village hall events; very funny.

Astrid, Pauline’s apparently shy young lodger, was thoughtfully portrayed by Claire. As her story slowly unfolds, the fact that she had been careful not to let on to the audience what had in fact been going on in Little Gissing, made her revelation as the femme fatale of the piece all the more surprising.

Tina, as Pauline’s old school friend Harriet, was also very amusing. Her ditsy character was very funny and hid a more complex character beneath, that was revealed to the audience in short conversations with other characters.

Olivia, the owner of a London art gallery who is invited to judge the competition was played by Bozsi, who captured her more sophisticated character well. She was particularly excellent at judging the works of art carefully whilst carrying out conversations with other cast members.

This was a very enjoyable one Act comedy with some excellent acting and strong direction by Adela Forestier-Walker. Very well done.

After an interval where we were served with delicious cake, we were then treated to another excellent one Act play.

This time set in a coffee shop with just two young women, Double Bubble is seemingly just two old friends catching up for coffee. But there is more to the story and past events are slowly revealed through their dialogue.

The coffee shop set was equally excellent, with tables and chairs and an unmanned counter where drinks and cake were ordered.

Grace was very good as Gina, eager to rebuild bridges with an old friend. She played this girly character for whom appearance is everything extremely well. Her over enthusiasm to repair her relationship with Lois was carefully observed and well delivered.

Likewise, Georgina played Lois with a subtlety which allowed the excellent script to slowly reveal itself to the audience. There were some very funny moments involving the phone and Lois’s plan to exact revenge on Grace for stealing her boyfriend, Bruno, was measured and well planned.

Again, strong direction, this time by Zeya Phillips-Thomas, was evident with well crafted characters.

This was a very enjoyable evening of delicious cake and two very well written one act comedies; the perfect combination! The carefully observed characters were brought to life by excellent actors and strong direction and made for a very entertaining night at the theatre. Very well done and congratulations to all involved.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.