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New Forest Players East Close Country Hotel Walled Garden Walkford July/August 2003  the best, and this marvellous production, part of Alan Ayckbourn’s Norman Conquests trilogy, was most certainly worth waiting for.
Director Neil Gwynne set the scene by using the actors to bring on various bits and pieces of garden paraphernalia before the actual play started, leaving the audience in no doubt as to each character’s personality. And it was an inspired idea to have ‘In An English Country Garden’ playing between scenes, becoming more frenetic as the evening wore on.And as the audience donned fleeces and blankets to counteract the decidedly unseasonal weather, my heart went out to the  performers in their skimpy summer clothes, although judging from the energy they created they probably didn’t notice the chilly air.Matthew Ellison excelled as the eager, irresponsible Norman, determined to bring sweetness, light and sex into the lives of his sisters-in-law Annie and Sarah (superbly played by Petra McGuire and Suzanne Teather) despite the presence of a forthright wife (Jane Harris).  And Daniel Saunders showed a fine sense of timing as Tom, while Richard Bushnell was suitably hale and hearty as the irritating Reg.Linda Kirkman Courtesy of the Bournemouth Daily Echo. The photographs are: (Courtesy of Daniel Saunders) Tom (Daniel Saunders) with Annie (Petra McGuire) and Norman (Matthew Ellison) smooching. Norman and Annie. Reg (Richard Bushnell) and Norman. Ruth (Jane Harris) and Tom. |
