I
was pleased to be invited to review this latest production by
Mortimer Dramatic Society as had never seen this particular
play before. The writer Jimmy Chinn had constructed an excellent
mystery play, centred around the
Doubleday family with skeletons in their cupboard, in particular,
the biggest skeleton being Matthew Doubleday who had been released
from prison after serving 15 years for killing his mother, a
charge he refuted. On his arrival at the family home we have
the usual recriminations from various members of the family
who eventually through various twists and turns reveal at the
end, who was the culprit. This play suited the talents of this
society very welt indeed and who presented on stage seven excellent
actors who presented their individual characters very well indeed,
all performed in an excellent, atmospheric setting by a director
who knew what he wanted.
Stan
Emery -
(RICHARD
OWEN)
Sarah
Clarke
-
(CELIA
OWEN) -
I
have combined these two together as there was little to choose
between them. Both gave strong performances as the daughter
and son-in-law, with Sarah leaving us in no doubt as to what
she thought of Matthew coming home on his release from prison
and Richard attempting to be the ‘peacemaker’ in the family
squabbles, and at the same time, attempting to sort the matter
out with the aid of Emma, who everybody looked down upon, but
which he realised, she was more sensible than people gave her
credit for. Sarah’s diction and characterisation was spot-on
and Richard was as good, although I would have liked a little
more projection on the voice as at times it was difficult to
hear what he was saying -
Congratulations
to both of you for fine performances.
Mari
Fleming -
(EMMA
DOUBLEDAY) -
As
the youngest daughter who was looked on as not the brightest
of the family, but who in fact was a lot sharper than the rest
of them put together, gave an excellent portrayal, she displayed
very well this aspect, but at the same time showed that she
was more ‘with it’ than they gave her credit for. Here we had
good diction, projection and some telling facial expressions
-
Congratulations
on a fine portrayal.
Cathy
Bowman -
(GILDA
DOUBLEDAY) -
As
the estranged spouse of Matthew, Cathy was suitably belligerent
and caustic about her husbands return from prison, her tantrums
over the situation were most realistic. Here was another performer
who presented good diction and projection making this a most
believable character -
Well
done.
Mary
Challenor -
(LAVINIA
DOUBLEDAY) -
I
gained the impression that Mary thoroughly enjoyed this part.
She threw herself fully into it and gave a most believable and
strong performance. I could not fault her characterisation in
any way. Here was good diction and projection with well pointed
lines -
Congratulations.
Graham
Jerome -
(MATTHEW
DOUBLEDAY) -
Graham
portrayed well his insecurity on returning to the family home,
having spent a number of years in prison for murdering his mother
and having to endure the antagonism directed at him from certain
members of the family on his return. He subtly portrayed his
inital diffidence to the realisation
at the end that his plea of innocence was fully justified. Lines
were well pointed and movements well controlled, but watch your
voice projection as at times you lowered your voice too much
so that some of the words were lost to the audience -
A
well presented part.
James
Mclnnes -
(CHARLES
DOUBLEDAY) -
As
the head of the family, trying to control the recriminations
by members of his family on the return of Matthew from prison,
James gave an excellent performance and one could see the RADA
training coming to the fore. Well pointed lines with good clear
diction and projection -
A
well crafted characterisation.
Tom
Shorrock -
(DIRECTOR)
-
I
reviewed Tom’s initiation into the realms of directing with
“Spring and Port Wine”, for which
he did a very good job. He is obviously a fast learner as witnessed
with his second presentation, “Take Away The
Lady”. He had picked a very good cast who he had characterised
very well in their various roles, bringing out all the nuances
in the script. Lines had been well pointed and stage positioning
could not be faulted, all presented in an atmospheric setting,
no mean feat within the confines of this stage. The inter-action
between the various performers was excellent with a good pace
maintained throughout. My only small comment is the fact that
a couple of the performers did not project sufficiently, so
that at times one lost their words. Always remember that voices
have to reach the back of the hail as well as the front. Apart
from that comment, this was an excellent play and congratulations.
Stage
Manager & Crew -
This
appeared a well managed stage with no noticeable hitches throughout
the performance.
Set
Design & Construction -
The
Mortimer technicians once again excelled with an excellent set,
well designed, well constructed with just the right decor -
Congratulations.
Lighting
Plot & Operation -
A
good lighting plot ensuring the right ambience was generated
throughout the performance. Operation on the night of my visit
could not be faulted.
Wardrobe
-
Costumes
had been well researched and fitted the characters displayed
as well as the period.
Set
Dressing -
Once
again M.D.S. triumphed with their set dressing. Obviously a
lot of thought had gone into this aspect and complimented fully
the excellent set
-
Congratulations.
Make-up
-
What
make-up was used had been applied correctly and stood up well
under the strong stage lighting.
Programme
-
The
programme was, what I consider, to be the right size. It contained
all the relevant information, well laid out with good reproduction
of the cast photographs together with interesting biographies
on each member. My only comment is that perhaps the cover could
have been on a heavier paper, making it more substantial. I
was sorry to see no reference in the programme of your affiliation
to NODA!
Front
of House -
As
one has come to expect from this society, Front of House Staff
were welcoming to their audience.
Thank you for inviting me to your latest production Take 4 wa
v he L aay which I thoroughly
enjoyed, as did the audience. May I take this opportunity of
wishing all at Mortimer Dramatic Society a Very Happy Christmas
and many successful productions in 2004.
Henry
Hawes -
NODA
Representative -
Region
13 |