Waiting in the Wings

After a three-year wait it was lovely to see members of the Bridgnorth Musical Theatre Company (BMTC) back on stage but this time at Chetton Village Hall. This was a new venue for the Company and it was great to see the support provided by a capacity audience.

The evening contained two One Act plays (Bloody Actors! by Archie Wilson and Fidelity Farce by Gary Diamond) interlinked with a series of musical interludes.

Bloody Actors! by Archie Wilson

This story revolves around a group of retired actors living in a nursing home who try to get along, however events from their past make this difficult. The only thing that appears to unite them is to prepare and perform a play for the other residents.

Laura Davies needs to be commended as she had stepped into the role of Debbie (the care home worker) and had amazingly learnt all of the lines in a very short space of time and at the same time managed to juggle the numerous cups of tea mentioned in the script.

I loved the chemistry between the four residents (Arthur played by Peter Morris, Edith played by Suzanne Millington, Grace played by Carolyn Edwards and Harry played by Roger Mann).  These are four very established performers who certainly know how to deliver comedy and how to create & sustain a character. There was a great rapport on stage and the enjoyment resonated instantly to the audience. Suzanne Millington certainly was the queen of the snobby put down lines for the evening and had the audience chuckling along within minutes of the play starting. There were a few missed lines and props but this somehow added to the forgetfulness of the residents and the overall fun of the evening.

Entertainment was never far away for the residents and the arrival of Gwendoline (an over enthusiastic singer from Wales) played by Naomi Hutton again just fuelled the frustration of the youthfulness of the Octogenarians!

It was the performance by the Geriatric Acting Group (GAG for short) of the balcony or sofa scene from Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet that descended into total chaos that will remain in my mind for a very long time.

A highly entertaining first act.

Fidelity Farce by Gary Diamond

In Act Two we were treated to Fidelity Farce, which was in completed contrast to the first Act.

Successful businessman Vincent Donaldson (played by new comer Dkai Pryce-Ridge) has booked a hotel room and the scene is set for a fling with his Personal Assistant (Mandy Felps played by Laura Davies). What Vincent had not counted on was the arrival of his Wife (Vanessa Donaldson played by Alexis Charnell), her Sister (Cindy with whom he had also been having an affair, played by Emma Parker), Emma (another women from his past, played by Sarah Childs) and the hotel room service (played by Matt Webb).

The play is a typical farce and is a vehicle that allows the cast to create some crude characterizations in ludicrously improbable situations much to the delight of the audience. Congratulations to all of the ladies involved and to Dkai, there is a great deal of courage required to run around stage in a state of semi-undress.  Also to Matt Webb in his portrayal of Richard (Room Service) for the dry delivery of his lines all adding to the evening’s fun.

The farce is full of hiding in wardrobes, hiding under beds, being locked in the bathroom, champagne and plot twists.

The dialogue was delivered at a pace and some great comedic timing.

I was not expecting the two major twists in the plot at the end and all I can say is well done BMTC for delivering such a progressive piece of theatre.

It was really nice to have live musical interludes through out the evening and during the scene changes sung by the performers, this really did showcase the talents of everyone.

There was a good use of space for each stage set and a clever use in the change of mood lighting for each play.

The highlight of the evening however has to be the final musical interlude with the companies rendition of ‘So Long Farewell’ from the Sound of Music complete with headscarf’s made from Curtains.

I am sure that Emma Parker as Director is extremely pleased with the outcome of the production and I look forward to seeing what the group challenge themselves with next.

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