Review of The Dame Of Sark at The Playhouse Theatre, Northampton

I am beginning to enjoy many of the amateur productions that Northampton offers as much as many of the professional ones. Some would say that this should be at odds with common sense because they have neither the budget, the time or the skilled actors (shall stop your right there buster). This is amateur dramatics darling, that is what it is all about. I have taken a liking a little more to these amateur ones perhaps because the performers seem more human to my unskilled eye. They occasionally fluff their lines, much like I forget to buy the milk. They didn't last night though at the rather quaint Playhouse Theatre. Maybe a hesitation or two, but certainly nothing involving cries from behind stage.

The stage in question was, to quote the programme "the drawing room of the Seigneurie of Sark" and rather lovely it was as well. A typical am-dram set, not complicated and very functional. The play that took place upon it was The Dame Of Sark by William Douglas Home (brother of the slightly more famous Alec). This in turn was based upon the true story of Sibyl Hathaway and her life during the six year occupation of the Channel Islands during the Second World War. She was the Dame of the title, effectively leader of the island and a hereditary position.

On stage for most of the play, Rosa Follett was a delightful Sibyl, at turns sad but more impressive when attempting to get under the skin of the occupying forces. She held the whole piece together well and with such a large role this was vital. The support however were equally impressive. Jem Clack who I had previously seen in The Mystery Of Irma Vep was much more effective in this, and oddly enough considering the tone, also much funnier. He also held a quality American accent throughout that was both solid but not awkward on the ear.

While on the subject of accents though, I have to say these were very, very (too very's, read them!) good. Most especially Hugh Jones as Major Lanz, who sounded quite supremely German, and this held extremely well also in those typical German soldier shouting moments required later in the play. This was no Allo Allo, that's for sure.

However my quiet star of the show was Graham Follett as Colonel von Schmettau. He was unassuming and simply superb as the compassionate German, and whenever on stage was where the eye went. Everything from his gentle demeanour to his softly spoken words was just, well a delight to see and was worth the entry fee alone.

Although only my second visit to the Playhouse, I have to say it is proving to be a lovely little place to go. The Dame Of Sark is not only a powerful story, but it is also being performed really rather well at the Playhouse. A quiet and gentle delight of a play despite the subject matter and one well worth catching.

Performance reviewed: Wednesday 28th January, 2015

The Dame Of Sark continues at the Playhouse Theatre, Northampton until Saturday 31st January, 2015. For full details visit their website at http://www.theplayhousetheatre.net/

Review of The Rocky Horror Show at Milton Keynes Theatre

Richard O’Brien’s anarchic, surreal, and often incomprehensible musical, The Rocky Horror Show , has captivated audiences for over fifty years now. With this new tour, it feels as fresh and unpredictable as if it had just emerged from O’Brien's vivid imagination yesterday. While another review might seem unnecessary given the countless dressed-up fans who fill every theatre it visits, let’s go ahead and write one anyway. The Rocky Horror Show follows the adventures of Brad and Janet, a newly engaged couple. On a dark and stormy November evening, they run into car trouble and seek refuge at a mysterious castle reminiscent of Frankenstein’s. There, they encounter the eccentric handyman Riff-Raff, the outrageous scientist Dr. Frank N. Furter, and a host of other bizarre characters. What unfolds is a science fiction B-movie narrative that is at times coherent and at other times bewildering — yet somehow, that doesn’t seem to matter. I first saw The Rocky Horror Show in 2019 and exper...

Review of The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband at The Playhouse Theatre, Northampton

During the interval of The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband , last weeks production at The Playhouse Theatre Northampton, I got involved in a conversation between a couple sitting next to me. The lady was very much of the opinion that the play was a comedy, while the gentleman, had formed one that it was a tragedy. They were joking of course in the conversation, but it did highlight the differences that Debbie Isitt's dark comedy might have between the sexes. And also now perhaps the passing of time. When this was written in the nineties, Isitt's play was a forthright feminist play, heralding the championing over of the ladies over the man. One the ex-wife plotting to cook him, the other, the new lover, potentially already very tired of him after just three years. The husband, Kenneth (Jem Clack) elopes initially in pursuit of sex with Laura (Diane Wyman), after his nineteen years of marriage with Hilary (Corinna Leeder) has become tired and passionless. Then later, he elopes ...

Review of Dial M For Mayhem! at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Middle Ground Theatre has been creating unique and intrepid adventures for the stage since the late eighties, and with Dial M For Mayhem! , they take those experiences and bring to the stage a brand new play within a play now arriving for a week run at Royal & Derngate. Written by Margaret May Hobbs and directed by Michael Lunney, Dial M For Mayhem! has much to admire. Still, sadly, for every good joke, amusing set piece and chaotic moment, there are too many periods of flatness, stilted sequences and, especially during the first act, too many slow scenes which either tread the same old ground or bring nothing new to the proceedings and then fail to flow into the next leaving it often disjointed. The cast does their very best, though, and the characters they bring to the stage are entertaining and perfect for this farcical play, but they lack depth despite the script trying desperately at times to give them one. The attempt to create character also comes at the expense of the farc...

A Small Mind At The Theatre

Search This Blog