home | accolade | articles | acting | festivals | guestbook | groups | greenroom | links | news | plays 1 productions | photos | quotes | reviews

spacer.gif (810 bytes)

HARVEY
St Peter's Players
St Joseph's Hall
Parkstone, Poole
November 2003

WHAT a pity that only a dozen or so people bothered to turn up for the opening night of this very enjoyable production. Those who weren’t there missed a treat, because Mary Chase’s gentle comedy simply brims over with feelgood factor, giving out a subtle message that life is so much better if people are kind to one another.
It centres around Elwood P Dowd, whose obsession with a 6ft tall invisible white rabbit threatens to send his sister into the same asylum into which she is trying to get her brother committed. Kevin Dicker was an absolute delight as the gentlemanly Elwood, smiling his way through life as he introduced Harvey to one and all, and Chris Gorman as his sister, Veta Louise Simmons, gave a frighteningly realistic portrayal of a woman falling apart.
There were also fine, strong performances from ‘psychiatric staff’ Ruth Kelly (Lois Glaspool), Marvin Wilson (Ben Jolley), Lyman Sanderson MD (Steve Nairn) and William R Chumley (John Bradford), a lovely cameo from Jenny Ford as the elderly Mrs Ethel Chauvenet and a confident, if accent-lacking, debut from Jenna Corbin as Myrtle Mae Simmons.
Oh, and Harvey played his part with real aplomb.

Linda Kirkman
Courtesy of the Bournemouth Daily Echo


Back