Women Behaving Badly

Women Behaving Badly, the latest offering from the Pepperpot Players, comprised two short plays, namely, Dirty Business and White Lies.

The welcome from Front of House staff was warm and a cup of tea was well received on a very cold evening. The programme was minimal but contained all the relevant information and was very colourful.

The village hall is an intimate venue with a capacity of around sixty patrons, however, on the night I attended it was only around half full. Both plays seemed to be well received and there was a fair bit of laughter throughout.

The background music prior to the production and during the interval was a nice touch.

The first play, Dirty Business had a cast of three. Two cleaners, in the local council offices, find out about potential cutbacks and then discover that the person responsible for implementing them is having an illicit affair. Obviously, this leads to the possibility of blackmail. The second act, set at later date, deals with results of both factors, with a surprising denouement from both cleaners, leading to a brilliant punchline.

The two female leads bounced of each other well, particularly with the liberal sprinkling of Malapropisms. The set made the most of a very small stage with everything of relevance in place and still allowing room for one of the players to fall over unconscious.

The costumes, although basic, were entirely in keeping with the plot. The props and stage dressing had been well thought out.

The second play, White Lies, dealt with a reunion of four college graduates, thirty years on. Again, the set was small but adequately relevant. The costumes of the four protagonists were diverse as befitted their divergent careers. Chris Turvey played a well turned-out vamp with good timing. Her character had made a career pursuing a wealthy husband via a long history of sexual proclivities. Credit must go to Jane Loizos for a good debut, who clearly has more to offer. Jenny Manning gave a sterling performance as the ex- jailbird biker and she kept things moving when the action flagged a little. Peter Farrin as the waiter, in a cameo role, was amusing and Faye Farrin, who completed the quartet of women, was very convincing as the bereaved woman who had lost her man to suicide.

Director, Nick Turvey, is still learning his trade but he certainly shows promise. He was also responsible for sound and lighting plus the music and so full credit should go to him.

It was an altogether entertaining evening. Well done to all concerned.

This reviewer always enjoys a visit to the village hall at Niton and is already looking forward to the next production.

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