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OUTSIDE EDGE
Wimborne Drama
Tivoli Theatre
Wimborne
May 2004

RICHARD Harris’ cricketing comedy has been memorably performed on television on more than one occasion, inevitably creating the problem that the audience has pre-conceived ideas of exactly how they expect the characters to be. Unfortunately, of course, amateur companies do not always have the luxury of choice when casting roles and consequently some of the performances in this production simply did not project the right characterisations.
There were also times when the on-stage action, which needs to be fast and furious to be most effective, almost ground to a halt so that the plot’s rising tensions failed to materialise and much of the humour was lost.
However, some of the cast did manage to score impressive runs and Jan Bursby, in particular, was excellent as Miriam, the long-suffering wife of team captain Roger (Dave Williams). Mark Ellen too made a strong impression as the recently divorced and re-married Bob, while the volatile relationship between Maggie and Kevin was beautifully conveyed by Yvonne Henley and Stuart Glossop and brought many of the evening’s laughs.
But overall, despite Wimborne Drama’s excellent reputation, this was a production that missed its mark by rather a long chalk, I think.

Linda Kirkman
Courtesy of the Bournemouth Daily Echo


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