Skip to main content

Review of Deckchairs 2 at The Playhouse Theatre, Northampton

I never got to see Deckchairs as it was performed at the Playhouse in 2014 two shows before I discovered the place. Therefore I was coming to this follow-up cold. However this is not a sequel in any case, just another play of four totally unconnected plays, they are two handers set on a seafront or beach of some kind. None of them are thankfully performed on those impossible to put up traditional deckchairs.

The style of the four plays varies, with two serious pieces of drama in the centre, book ended by two outright comedies. It forms an interesting, and not totally successful package. Written by Jean McConnell, these are quintessentially British feeling plays with often broad brushstroke and caricatured characters. The quality of the stories varies with by far the stronger ones after the interval and this is surprisingly replicated to a certain extent by the performances themselves.

The opening play is titled Day Trippers and is a relatively lightweight tale of a trip of two coworkers on a work outing. This is broad and very obvious humour, not unfunny but most jokes visible a mile off, think seaside postcards or Les Dawson sketches. Featuring Sue Howes (Doris) and Ingrid Heymann, it is the most shakily performed, with on the night quite a few prompts distracting from the content. Despite all this, there was some nice interaction between the two and it remained a very entertaining piece.

The second play, The Guilt Card is at first a startling change of style and is the one I had the most trouble enjoying. It does tell a very good tale of two sisters and a revelation that throws the younger ones world upside down. The problem I had with it was that you simply could not like either character. Its great to hate a character, they are often the best ones in a play, however when you have only two in a show and you have sympathy for neither, for me it is always going to be struggle to enjoy. While of course, much of this is the scripts fault, I personally would have liked to have seen a slightly gentler approach to the character of Marion (Jen Kenny). At times the performance seems forced in making the audience hate her. With her illness, this is where the audience could have benefited from a little less grimness, and been able to sympathise with the character more. I did however absolutely love the moments where Jen gazes out into the sea contemplating, these were certainly full of emotional depth. One thing I must say though is that Sheila Jenkins in the role of Deborah was extremely impressive in her very first performance and certainly has a future on the stage ahead, a quality debut! So The Guilt Card is definitely well performed, just a tad heavy on the overall harshness of the characters.

After the interval we have the second of the serious plays, Short Changed. This for me was not only the most interesting story of the four, but also the best performed. Miss Westlake (April Pardoe) wants to move into a retirement home and the decision lies with Julia Griffith (Corinna Leeder). However as the story develops, it appears that these two apparent strangers may actually have a history. Corinna once again provides a solid performance as Julia, all building tension as the mystery of Miss Westlake becomes clear. However it is April that is quite a revelation in this, greatly out of character from anything I have seen her perform before. She is a simmering presence, while not moving from the chair, she always feels a foreboding and strong character. Much like Swan In The Attic was a development of confidence, this is perhaps from those shows I have seen, the best realised character I have seen from her.

The final piece is Theatrical Digs starring Denise Rye (Maggie Feston) and Gena McCrystal (Pascaline Holbien) and this is an all out riot and full of in jokes for those theatre folk. Both characters, dressed in larger that life bohemian style are magical creations, with the bravado in particular of Pascaline, clutching her "Born to be famous" the early dominating factor of the first part of the play. It is effortlessly performed by Denise and Gena and the most clinically so of the four plays allowing the two to create the two exuberant characters with no distraction.

Deckchairs 2 is a mixture of the excellent, good and slightly disappointing, however because they are all relatively short, even if you are not quite enjoying it, there is always something very soon around the corner. It was however once again a great evening of entertainment at the Playhouse.


Performance reviewed: Saturday 21st May, 2016 at the Playhouse Theatre, Northampton

Deckchairs 2 ran at the Playhouse Theatre, Northampton between Tuesday 17th and Saturday 21st May, 2016.

For full details of the Playhouse Theatre 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...