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Bournemouth Little Theatre Club Jameson Road Winton, Bournemouth October 2004 Without giving too much away, life for Norman, a tortured Lee Tilson, and his “supportive” wife Harriet, portrayed with great emotion by Patricia Richardson, has taken a turn for the worse. Living in a small, ugly northern town with their son Charlie, well played by Ryan Burden (shame we never see his face until curtain call), the story unfolds with the introduction of Giles, a moving cameo from Derek Hyder, neighbour Jane (Jenny Gorden) and boss Dave (David Hinton). Written and directed by club member Tim Garton, the play I felt lacked pace and might benefit from a little pruning and the overlong scene changes did not help the momentum. It was also a shame about the extraneous backstage noises during the quieter moments and some lighting effects that left the actors in the shade. The final revelation scene certainly has an impact and a twist no one expects. Michael Leigh Courtesy of the Bournemouth Daily Echo Another Review, perhaps a little more balaanced, from an anonymous Playgoer, as featured in the Little Theatre News of the BLTC, courtesy Tony Orman, Editor. I suppose that the first production of any new play that is not written by an already established master is bound to be reviewed with a certain amount of sniffy condescension. This is likely to increase if the author is local and therefore can be known to be no god-like distant wraith, but a person just as human as ourselves. No such sniffines is justified on this occasion. Also, the first production of any new work - whoever the author - is equally bound to show up facets where things could be done better (that, after all, is the whole rationale behind pre West-End runs in the provinces). When one goes skiing, it is safest to keep the the runs which have already been laid out and marked by the experts who know the area. To go wandering on untried slopes and skate off-piste may be very exciting, but one can end up with problems. The first-time director of any brand new work is by definition skating 'off-piste'. Redemption is billed as a mystery; part of the mystery lies in the title which might more accurately be styled 'Damnation'. It is a very powerful work suffused with more than an element of fantasy; indeed its dreamy air of fantasy is shot through with logic of the unreliable kind normally met with in nightmares. For the present day theatre its conception and setting is most unusual, yet it could be described as an up-dated version of a very old form, namely the ancient morality play. Modern audiences are not accustomed to melodrama, which received a bad press following the way the Victorians mishandled the genre, but Redemption is melodrama at its best and most self assured. Tim Garton who both wrote and directed this play is to be sincerely congratulated. 
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