Two One Act Plays

Wells Little Theatre

Two One Act Plays

Thursday March 10, 2022

This was my first visit to Wells Little Theatre. I was there as the Regional Representative, Leigh Conley, was unable to attend the show.

The evening consisted of two One Act Plays. For both plays, the stage set was minimal. Black curtains at the back of the stage and bare walls at the side did little to enhance the productions but the stage props/furniture were more than adequate. All of the paintings on show in both productions were painted by members of the Society and were very acceptable.  Well done.

In neither production were the performers ‘miked up’. If they had been, the performers may not have been so disadvantaged by the constant hum of what I assume was a air-conditioning unit.

The costumes for both plays were very satisfactory.

The lighting for both plays was very acceptable with no noticeable shadowing.

 

Blood on Canvas  by Richard James.  Directed by Sharon Edmonds

The two characters in this play, Stells (an art investor) and Maddie (an artist and studio owner), both gave convincing performances

The dialogue was crisp and clean – except when they were occasionally facing away from the audience - and the two performers worked well together.  Judging by the audience reaction to the final piece of action on the stage, many of them had not foreseen the ending.  

Both performers should be commended on tonight’s performance.

 

Rude Awakenings  by Nicholas Ridley.   Directed by Doreen Grant

This play has a cast of four – again all women. There was again an artistic theme running through the play, this time concentrating on a village arts competition.

The various characters were nicely portrayed and there was good interaction with ‘Mr McGregor’(I think that was his name) sitting in the audience but definitely a part of the production – even if he was not mentioned in the programme and uttered not a word.

It was a pity that the dialogue was not quite as crisp as in the first play. There were a couple of ‘prompts’ and a lot of ‘ad-libbed um’s and ah’s’ which detracted somewhat from the play.  

All in all, it was an enjoyable evening. It is a pity there was not a larger audience to appreciate the efforts of the performers, directors and all those who worked hard to put on this event.

Thank you for your hospitality. Thank you for arranging for my ticket at very short notice.  I look forward to my next visit to Wells Little Theatre.

Anthony Pomeroy

14.03.2022

 

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