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"You
ask my advice about acting? Speak clearly, don't bump into the furniture and
if you must have motivation, think of your pay packet on Friday." (Noel
Coward!)
Clearly the Parish Players actors and associated crew have no such fiscal
motivation and instead what shone through the whole evening was the
dedication and enthusiasm to stage plays for the sake of theatre and
audience enjoyment rather than perhaps more cynical commercial reasons. Nor
did they bump into the furniture, the furniture was allowed to bump of its
own accord! From the welcome by the young ushers at the start to the
magnificently detailed set and costumes, from the eager lighting team to the
efficient and well rehearsed stage crew it was evident that this production
was tightly and cohesively put together.
Stages in church hall have to be some of the most awkward and inflexible
playing spaces ever yet the design of this set and its execution was most
effective in creating the illusion of the Condomine’s drawing room.
Particularly thoughtful details such as the choice of “period” wall paper
and colour palette that tied in with the upholstery really helped to
convince one that this was indeed somebody’s home rather than a hotchpotch
of borrowed pieces of furniture…which it inevitably was. The selection of
period props and set dressing was again detailed and correct for the period,
and giving the overall look of the stage a far more sumptuous feel than
probably it actually cost! The designer had been careful to marry all the
elements together with some subtlety. Lighting throughout was also well
thought through in terms of the moods required especially for the séance
scenes where the practical table lights and flaming fire really lent
atmosphere and mood to the moment. I found the lighting state changes for
Elvira’s entrances however to be a little too sudden for my taste and rather
less well blended.
The costumes were absolutely spot on and clearly not only carefully chosen
or made but also researched and then created to reflect characters
personalities as well as social status and occasion. Madam Arcarti’s evening
wear was wonderfully evocative of the “Bloomsbury” set to which she might
have belonged in her youth whilst the Condomines and Bradmans remained
sartorially stoutly faithful to social expectations. Elvira’s dress was very
finely judged in terms of colour and its sexual appeal adding significantly
to the evident attraction her husband still felt for her.
Anne Carroll’s performance as Madam Arcarti was excellent, she maintained
the battiness and breathless enthusiasm of the woman without taking the
character into the realms of an over hammy pantomime dame. I particularly
loved hearing touches of Anne’s natural accent add depth and richness to the
received pronunciation that is the more obvious choice for Coward’s
characters, it brought a naturalness and warmth to the lines that worked
really well. The struggle with such tightly written and precise dialogue is
to try and keep it sounding real which Anne certainly did. I really
appreciated her total commitment to the role with her instinctive
physicality for Madam Arcarti, the fluttering hands and “studies” (looking
as if directly referenced from 1930’s Art Nouveau poses) to the comical
awkwardness and greed when not performing her trances. Peter Smith and
Margaret Chick were the perfect conventional couple, resigned to a life of
domestic predictability after their previous marriages. Their execution of
the lines was handled well and with some style although on the first night
nerves may have affected a few of the lines with some prompts needed. I felt
very much they had captured the self centred smugness of the well off which
was satisfyingly shattered by Elvira’s reappearance in the land of the
living. Peter provided an alternately hectoring and whining character while
Margaret was pleasingly cynical and direct in her interpretation. The first
scene with its necessary ping pong witticisms regarding the nature of
Elvira, and Charles’s discomfiture at trying not to upset Ruth worked well.
At times in later scenes the pace dropped at times losing a little of the
“throwaway” wit that Coward does so well.
Claire Hoult was very well cast as Elvira, a commanding and at the same time
infuriatingly childish beauty, quite believable in her ability to capture
any man’s heart and drive him to utter distraction. I felt it was a bold
directorial choice to use grey/ blue make up to enhance the ghostliness of
her and one which very much helped to distance her from the living. I would
however have toned down her lipstick, it luminesced at times under the blue
lighting states and took away some of the ethereal quality of her. Claire
had a very interesting technique in delivering many of her characters lines
out front, which at times broke through the fourth wall convention and
appeared to invite the audience in sharing her state of otherworldliness to
mock the other characters on stage.
Justin Webster created a believably unassertive Dr Bradman with great focus
and utilised underplayed reactions on stage, which is an absolutely key
technique when acting in Coward’s plays. He was a very funny and sympathetic
character. Lindsey Litster’s portrayal of his wife was a wonderful
counterpoint to her rather fey husband and the stubborn certainty of the
Condomine’s. She played Mrs Bradman as a somewhat empty headed, easily
impressed woman keen to be in on the fascination of the Condomine’s
experiment. Caroline Chick was wonderful as the cameo Edith, giving full
rein to the capacity of Coward’s characters to be broadly comedic when
inventive actors/ directors find the physical rhythm of those characters.
I felt the play was directed by Caryl Court and Toni Conyers with a real
appreciation of the style and wit of the piece with excellent blocking
throughout and good use of the whole set. The moments of suspense, comic
relief and the final dénouement of the ghosts’ disappearance with the room
being invisibly wrecked were handled with assurance and clear understanding
of how to use the space creatively. The choice of music in between scenes
was excellent and really helped to create the passage of time and mood of
each subsequent scene. Scene changes were in the main slick and efficient, I
was amazed to count what I thought were six stagehands for one scene change.
A real testament to the dedication of the company to make the play a
success. The only minor criticism I had was the quality of sound for some of
the sound effects. The door bell and the cuckoo particularly were affected
by an odd background rumble. I suspect this is an equipment issue, but the
devil is in the detail and with such a well put together show it is a shame
to have one small element out of place.
Well done everyone and I’ll leave the last words to himself!
"Work hard, do the best you can, don't ever lose faith in yourself and take
no notice of what other people say about you.” (Noel Coward)
Nancy McLean
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