Volunteers

VOLUNTEERS  is a comedy by Hilary Mackelden and set in a charity shop staffed by the volunteers of the title.  All is going reasonably well in the (somewhat untidy) shop until the arrival of a new Area Manager and new CEO who come in to make changes: redundancies and new, younger staff.  The result is a gentle comedy that bubbles along nicely and went down well with the audience, especially when a dodgy character in a raincoat made an appearance!

The set was excellent, depicting a charity shop.  It made good use of the space and had great detail: the changing room, counter, door with bell, side window and was stuffed full with everything you might expect to find in a charity shop – including the erratic till!

The costumes were great and each character’s outfit suited their character perfectly with changes as the characters developed over the course of the play.   Prue’s transformation from dowdy spinster to smart woman about town was one of the highlights of the evening.

The lighting was effective and appropriate and I particularly liked the use of sound for the pouring rain. 

The Direction of the play was well balanced and thought out. The fantastic set and costumes enhanced the action.   It was nice to see the initially belligerent Leanne develop into the caring and friendly young woman supporting her older colleagues.   This was a strong performance by Sam McWilliams.  There was good rapport between all the actors who worked well as a team.  Congratulations to the team, headed up by Director, Warwick Howe, who provided a great night’s entertainment to the enthusiastic and supportive audience. 

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