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Club Director's Notes

Sweeney Todd the Barber Semi Detached An Evening of Stoppard The Arsonists Man of the Moment Oh! What a Lovely War Only Free Men

• An Evening of Stoppard

• 12th Dec - 20th Dec
• Written by: Tom Stoppard
• Directed by: Victoria Thompson
• Performance Times: Fri 19:45, Sat 19:45, Mon 19:45, Tue 19:45, Wed 19:45, Thu 19:45, Fri 19:45, Sat 14:45, Sat 19:45

Review

Director Victoria Thompson gave us a most enjoyable evening with aspects of Stoppard’s themes being explored in the two pieces - philosophical comedy and country house murder mystery parody. It was funny, engaging and thought provoking.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern was a curtain raiser and served well to whet our appetite for the evening with bravura performances from Philip Dunn and James Firth-Haydon. Their duologues were one of the high points, revealing skilful timing and characterisation. Philip’s Rosencrantz (or was it Guildenstern?) was suitably puzzled and submissive whilst James as Guildenstern exuded the authoritarian confidence of one trapped in a world of intrigue fighting to survive. Dudley Ward, as the player, portrayed the character as a lost soul – penniless and without an audience. Dudley was at his best in his long monologues in which he captured the frustration and desperation of the player king. The costumes were appropriately Shakespearian. Set in front of the tabs, the play was cleverly lit to portray a range of times and atmospheres.

The Real Inspector Hound
After the interval the critic Birdboot, (John Whitley) took his seat in the audience on the stage. The scenery was simple but effective and was skilfully painted by Arthur and Hannah Thompson in such a way that the audience was looking out at us. The second critic, Moon (Michael Bloom), joined Birdboot on the stage and the action began – with a pause. John, as the second string critic, was a master of the convoluted language of criticism whilst at the same time displaying paranoia about his role as stand in. Michael was excellent in displaying the double standards of the confirmed lecher who rationalised his behaviour with aplomb.

It was when the critics became involved in the action of the play within a play that the actors were superb at showing the ‘rabbit caught in the headlights’ effect created by one of Stoppard’s classic moments where one critic answers a persistent ringing phone on stage only to find it is for his colleague, who gets up to answer it! The plot thickens!

Meg Depla Lake, as Mrs Drudge, the daily, was a tour de force, her characterisation so different from her normal persona that I didn’t recognise her. The caricature was fully realised but a little over the top. She was hilariously funny and her timing and reactions were excellent. Simon was played with heroic nonchalance by talented newcomer to Lewes, James Firth-Haydon. As the caddish lover of both of the women in the play he was suitably handsome and shifty. Lyndsey Meer’s Felicity was a nicely judged portrayal of a young lady of the sixties and she was beautifully dressed. Her rival, Cynthia, the lady of the house, played by Lisa Bealby, another talented newcomer, was most attractively dressed in a sixties frock. The critic, Birdboot, understandably exclaimed when she first appeared, ‘Christ! Who is that?’

Derek Watts was suitably old bufferish as the wheelchair confined Magnus and made the most of his minor but important role in the action before revealing himself as ‘the real Inspector Hound.’ Paul Myles presented his Inspector Hound role with a good range of styles from assured control to frustrated bewilderment. The dead body was played by Paul Wilkinson with complete immobility – he deserved his round of applause.

Stoppard’s writing is so good that the director and actors can only hope to do it justice and in this production they succeeded admirably.
Micheal Turner