Skip to main content

Review of Bazaar And Rummage by Sue Townsend at The Playhouse Theatre, Northampton

In my relatively brief theatre life I like often to try to spot tidbits of information with any new plays that I am seeing. Most are generally dull, maybe a writer I have or haven't seen before or an actor reappearing. Bazaar And Rummage though provides one of the more vaguely interesting ones in that it was first performed in 1982 in the compact 90 seater Royal Court Upstairs, which just so happens to be the same place I saw my very first London play, Rainbow Kiss in 2006. Well that is interesting to me anyway...

The writer of Bazaar And Rummage, Sue Townsend, is someone I very much grew up reading via her classic Adrian Mole diaries. However despite loving them so much, rather oddly I have never seen or read anything else from her career as a writer. Bazaar And Rummage (Townsend's fifth play) is about a group ("You can't call them a group. They've never met!) of agoraphobics who attempt to recover through holding as the title suggests a bazaar and rummage sale. The all female cast of six offer a mix of oddball characters from the driving and controlling Gwenda (Juliet O'Connor), the observant social worker Fliss (Corinna Leeder) and the three agoraphobics themselves including the constantly swearing Margaret (June Lovell). The sixth character is to me even now a puzzle, but more on that later.

What we have though is a very observant and of its time social play built via Gwenda upon the fear of a downwardly spiralling society. Perhaps actually it could be considered quite relevant even now, for the fear of heading out into the world where as Katrina (Jenny Bond) observes, you might get robbed, raped or burned alive in a vehicle pile-up. Good comedy material there you might think. However it works as all the best comedy plays do, edging high humour with pathos. So yes we can lurch very comfortably from the shear madness (and yes hysterical) rendition of My Way (a magnificent moment from Bond and Lovell) and then straight into the sorrowful and graphic description of a tragic event Margaret describes.

It is indeed a very funny play with many sharp one liners, but where much of the comedy comes from the characters interaction themselves. Also despite being over thirty years old it seems less dated than you might expect, especially if you remember that time and can get over the now sometimes politically incorrect language and tone.

The cast are generally of great quality. June Lovell steals most of the stage after her potty mouthed antics arrive. Her entrance, being carried legs akimbo is a magic moment. Jenny Bond is wonderful as the lethargic Barry Manilow fan, his face proudly portrayed across her bosom. Juliet O'Connor who I have seen twice before at the Playhouse is once again magnificent value as the calculating Gwenda, all hidden agendas and pushing up of spectacles.

The calming influences come from Fiona Abbis, very much the less out of control agoraphobic, who I have to admit provided a rather interesting, but very cute dialect to proceedings. The most calm and controlling element though was provided by Corinna Leeder, who becomes less observant as the play develops and Leeder plays the role with just the right amount of balance. The final cast member who I have already alluded to is Ingrid Heymann who is saddled with the oddly pointless character of the WPC and is only present at the end, where an up to then excellent quality play descends into a very weird denouement. The role is nothing, but Heymann does all she can and that I Want To Be Loved By You provides a pale and pointless imitation of what had worked earlier in the play with My Way. For the end to be this weird and disappointing is a shame as so much of what comes before is simply brilliant.

However once again this is a highly spirited amateur production, simple on set but high on quality performances and provided an excellent couple of hours of entertainment.



Performance reviewed: Friday 25th September, 2015

Bazaar And Rummage continues at the Playhouse Theatre, Northampton until Saturday 26th September, 2015. For full details visit their website at http://www.theplayhousetheatre.net/

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Lord Of The Dance at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The stage show Lord of the Dance possibly needs little introduction to most people, as it has become a legend and now, in this touring version, subtitled rather immodestly, 25 Years of Standing Ovations, it reaches a landmark anniversary. Those that do not know of the show would probably well know its spiritual fathers Michael Flatley, and even more likely Riverdance , from which Lord of the Dance sprung with a proper spring in its step. During the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, Riverdance hit the world by storm as Michael Flatley and his troop of dancers possibly presented the most famous part of Eurovision ever, certainly of the non-singing variety at least. Here, this touring show brings that same style Flatley created from traditional Irish dancing across the country once again and it is truly something special to see. The concept of the show is simply a battle between good and evil told through dance, and some captivating and stunning songs performed by Celyn Cartw...

Review of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Milton Keynes Theatre

There have been numerous productions of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's groundbreaking musical since it first appeared in 1968 and opened in the West End in 1973. One might wonder if there is still room for another tour. However, judging by the packed audience in Milton Keynes Theatre for the opening night of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat , much interest remains for this show. Also, with this production first seen at The London Palladium in June 2019, and with a few production elements altered, Joseph still has, after all those years, the room to change and evolve. However, the question is, does this change help or hinder the show's history? For those unfamiliar with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, it tells the story of Joseph, Jacob's favourite son, in a lighthearted and musical style that jumps between various genres. Joseph's brothers are somewhat envious of him, leading to them selling him into slavery to an Egyptian nobleman. As for ...

Review of Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The Rambert Dance Company is the oldest such company in Britain having first performed in 1926. However, despite this, this was my first encounter with the group in my ten years of theatre-going. Coupled with this, it was also my first encounter with Peaky Blinders , having never seen the show, and only knowing a few vague things about it. My companion for the evening however was very familiar with the show, allowing some background behind the show. It turns out though,  Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby needs a little more than a good bit of knowledge of the show, as despite this production having incredible style, there struggles to be a cohesive structure to the show and the storytelling. Much more than other dance shows as well. The first act does a whistle-stop tour of the first five seasons and while it is a feast on the eye, and on the ear, it gets extremely confusing at times. The second act is freestyle and drifts away from the stories tol...