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New Forest Players Memorial Hall New Milton July 2004 Directed by Anne Ramm in an elegant, minimalist set, nothing detracted from the clever casting and slick presentation. From the opening stylised line-up to the concluding rhymed monologue spoken with gravitas, with Arthuir Wicksteed (Matthew Ellison), each scene played perfectly. Mrs Swabb (Maureen Beven) was an admirably humourous link lady; Sir Percy Shorter (Peter Dawson) was suitably twitchy. Spinster Connie Wicksteed (Carol Cotton) transformed from dowdy to voluptuous with the aid of her mail-order appendages, supplied by the hapless Shanks (Nocholas Riachards). Clive Rigden as the unhappy Mr Purdue competently managed his suicidal hanging, John Tickner convincingly played his weedy son Dennis, while his mother Muriel (Lolly Endacott) was, by turns, autocratic and sexy. A touching scene between the parent Wicksteeds was endearing but this risky romp ended in laughter. Trousers dropped everywhere, but the standard of this production did not. Margaret Franklin Courtesy of the Bournemouth Daily Echo |
