What the papers said.........

 

November 2006 Happy is England now and Billy Mason from Gloucester at the Cramphorn.

As reported in the Weekly News.

 

Coward x3 was well received

Coward X 3, Cramphorn Theatre, 4th May



These are three short playlets which show off Coward's great sensitivity and
vitriolic wit. Serendipity's Jonathon Hunter directed all three with equal
wit and sensitivity. Fumed Oak - a process designed to impart fake class to
furniture, is a good title for a fake family. Joseph Leeder got the best
cheer of the night as the henpecked worm that turns on his nagging wife
Barbara Llewellyn, snivelling daughter Caroline St. John and leech mother-in
law Pam Rymill all of whom were good enough to make the audience want to
slap them. All of Coward's contempt for shabby values and his own boring
upbringing is poured out in this short homily.



Still Life is the short tale which was developed into the film Brief
Encounter. Jonathon Hunter is impressive as the doctor lover and Caroline
St. John as his paramour. The Serendipity approach was to treat it as a
fragile period love story retaining all of the charm and lost innocence of
the period. Thankfully they avoided the clipped accents that could so easily
have tipped the piece into parody. Pam Rymill and Barbara Llewellyn as
refreshment staff were great foils to station staff Philip Gaudin and Paul
Carnell in background courting scenes which kept the story 'on the rails'.



Red Peppers saw Coward at his coruscating best exposing the bitchiness and
sheer ineptitude of over-the-hill Variety acts. Philip Gaudin and Barbara
Llewellyn are convincing as the hapless pair of hoofers unable to get their
act together, and Paul Carnell is their alcoholic, tone deaf conductor.
Coward demonstrates his encyclopaedic knowledge of the seediness of back
stage dramas in this sad but, ultimately very funny piece.



The multi-purpose sets were simple but convincing, with lots of nice
incidental touches. I felt the scene changes could have been a bit slicker,
but all in all, this was a fine absorbing evening of theatre in the presence
of a master story-teller and expert interpreters.

Jim Hutchon

 

Review by the Halstead Gazette dated November 18th 2005.

The Sneeze and other comedies by Chekhov which toured East Anglia, Spring 2005

 

 

It seems they ALL Loved Confusions.