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HABEAS CORPUS
P & P Roductions
Lighthouse Studio Theatre
Poole
February 2006

Habeas Corpus was a well-handled comedy from the rapier pen of Alan Bennet. Admittedly the audience were mostly partisan, i.e. everyone seemed to know everyone or be part of the larger company, but, had they been strangers, the laughs would have been just as raucous. Not a single pun or double entendre was missed, and it was a slick and stylish production.
The cast moved from prose to verse and back again with seamless ease, and the direction by Pat Donovan was well thought out.
There were no weak performances in this play, as everyone pulled their full weight in their very different characters. Arthur Wicksteed (Crispin Goodall) gave a suitably laconic and cynical doctor. Mrs. Swabb (Yvette Leahy) was a common-sense charlady with an acerbic wit, and Steve Potter was a delightfully lecherous vicar. How Mr. Purdue (Barry Baynton) maintained his “hanging” position throughout the entire interval must be down to some form of meditation.
Most of the cast had their fair share of groping, kissing and slapping, so one can only imagine how hilarious rehearsals must have been. The end result was equally funny and made us forget how hard the seats are in the Studio.

Carolyn White.
Courtesy of the Bournemouth Daily Echo


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