|
Arsenic and Old Lace
By Joseph Kesselring.
Arsenic and euthanasia.
Canterbury Players.
Whitstable Playhouse. November 2009.
The euthanasia debate is given a comic angle in the house of the Brewster family
of Brooklyn and does so without a trace of offence.
Two sisters dispatch lonely old men with poisoned wine and have them buried
in the cellar by their deranged nephew Teddy, despite the horror of his brother
Mortimer.
Another nephew, Jonathan, returning after a career in crime, reveals a very
different penchant for murder. Tony Johnson in this role was
outstanding as was Jim Akhurst as plastic surgeon Dr Einstein.
Martha (Ruth Cameron) and Abby (Jill Akhurst)
were captivating.
Andreas Lowson played Mortimer with the paradoxical mixture
of suavity and confusion which endears him to his feisty fiancee Elaine, compellingly
acted by Sally Brown. All the actors demonstrated the hilarity
of Kesselring's marvellous play.
Reviewed by Nina Del Gedoe
For Kentish Gazette.
"TWO"
Our 2009 Summer Production was TWO, by Jim Cartwright: "TWO".
The play was directed by Sarah Gooch, 2-4 July, 2009 at the @ The Gulbenkian
Theatre, Canterbury, Kent and at Lounge
On The Farm.
Two by Two Adds up to a Powerful Drama
Originally this play had 14 characters and a cast of two – hence
its title.
In Sarah Gooch’s production there was a full cast
but with a minimal but effective set and no props at all it must still
have been a daunting enterprise. Nevertheless, it was directed with indisputable
success.
A lively northern pub is run by a married couple with a thorny relationship;
the audience had to imagine the presence of their thronging customers
but there are 12 whose lives are briefly but intensively portrayed.
Each of these characters was performed with a profound sympathy and there
was both pathos and humour in all their stories.
Outstanding among then was Jill Akhurst’s old
woman drinking her regular Guinness, the only reward at the end of each
day after caring for a senile and incontinent husband. Akhurst gave her
character immense pity, love and supreme dignity despite the wretched
details of her drudgery.
Another powerful scene had Lesley (Ellie Gee) as the
abused wife of Roy (Adam Summers), a paranoid thing who
has no hesitation in clobbering his wife in full view of the other customers.
After the sour bickering of the two proprietors between the appearance
of their clients, a small boy enters, the catalyst who reveals the cause
of their disharmony. The unveiling of the suppressed misery of losing
their young son was the heartbreaking climax of the play and both Geoff
Dale and Sally Parker were utterly believable
in their desolation.
Diane Ogleden
"Play so powerful we forgot not to believe."
COLERIDGE observed that a "willing suspension of disbelief"
is needed when we frequent works of literature, particularly drama; that
is, we witness events on stage as if they were real and relevant to our
own existence.
Thus the best works of literature embody profound truths applicable to
everyday life. Indeed there are times when the acting on stage is so powerful
that we forget we are watching a play.
That is what happened on Saturday night at the Gulbenkian Theatre, during
a performance of "Two" by the Canterbury Players.
In one scene in a public house a man, Roy, was bullying his wife, Lesley.
He was verbally loud and sarcastic while she was cowed and terrified,
barely able to speak.
It was evident from the audible response from the audience that there
was a shared loathing for Roy and pity for Lesley.
Their scene came to an end when Roy struck Lesley a savage blow.
The theatre was shocked into silence and there was a considerable pause
before the clapping began. Even then it sounded restrained, as if applauding
would be a sign of approval for Roy's behaviour.
In other words, such was the power of the acting that it was like witnessing
hell itself. Well done, Canterbury Players.
In a letter from Brian Godden, to the Kentish Gazette. |
Bazaar and Rummage, by Sue Townsend.
Canterbury Players.
Whitstable Playhouse. March 2009.
The popular writer of the Adrian Mole books has set her play in a church hall
where a group of agoraphobic women is holding a jumble sale. It is a comedy
with underlying pathos which, in this performance, was poignantly unfolded by
six actors who are ostensibly on stage to entertain. And entertaining moments
there are in abundance, from each of the characters diverse personalities, as
well as the moments of latent pain behind their condition.
Anne Hancox played Gwenda the (not quite) qualified but supercilious
social worker in charge of the event, and Louise Gibbons was
her assistant Fliss, still in training but well-intentioned and striving to
be sympathetic.
Katrina is the most obviously neurotic of the women and Sharon Gair
supplied plenty of humour, but not without revealing the pitifulness of her
situation.
Sally Parker was Bell-Bell, a quiet and more dignified but
forlorn widow whose husband has committed suicide, and Ruth Cameron
took the outrageous part of Margaret, not really wanted in the venture by some
of her fellow-sufferers for, from the blast of copiously rich vulgarity of her
first obstreporous entrance to the comparative but heart-rending restraint as
she tells the wretched tale of her rape, she commands the stage, as did the
actor.
Sarah Gooch was the brisk police woman who appears briefly
at the end of the play, and concluded a production by Jill Akhurst
which was both hilarious and thought provoking.
Elaine Godden.
|
| Shakespeare's
Much Ado About Nothing
performed by The Canterbury Players
at The Gulbenkian Theatre
|
Reviewed by:
Annie De Lodge.
Kentish Gazette.
Thursday November 20, 2008. |
|
|
Much Ado About Nothing Review
|
Much Happiness About Everything
Elegance and simplicity prevailed in Derek
Standing's fine set and in Lesley Lindsay's and Sheila
Gibbins' beautiful costumes.
Innocence was the key in the delightful performances of Sam Stolton
and Ellie Gee as the young lovers Claudio and
Hero.
Complementing this atmosphere of 16th Century charm was the mature acting
of others in the cast, who gave a professional tone to the production.
Geoff Dale as Dominick (Benedic) for example,
was outstanding both in his comic spats and his tender love scenes with
Beatrice; not once did his command of the role falter. |
Tony Johnson's Leonato was a
less dramatic part but was also consistently sympathetic and convincing.
The bitter Don John, played by Andreas Lowson
was so sinister as to provoke a hiss from somewhere in the audience and
Adam Summers was deliciously camp as Borachio.
Sarah Gooch, mistress of comedy, could have given Beatrice
a touch more subtlety, but nevertheless commanded the stage in her scenes.
Nigel Banks played Dogberry with relish and
Phil Gittings made Verges a wonderfully vacant
halfwit but with an uncanny visual resemblance to the Bard himself.
There were brief stately dances to contemporary music, with the exception
of some Rodrigo, but the guitar could, at a push, have been taken for
a lute.
Katherine Durio, already recognised as a superlative
actor in the Canterbury Players' production of Blue
Remembered Hills, has proved herself a masterly director too, in this
their latest impressive production.
Annie De Lodge. |
|
Blue Remembered Hills
by Dennis Potter, Gulbenkian Theatre.
Reviewed by Sian Napier, Kentish
Gazette
Actors show the darker side of childhood
|
Blue Remembered Hills Review by Sian Napier, Kentish Gazette |
DENNIS Potter's tale of the loss of childhood innocence in the hills and woodland
of rural England during the Second World War throws some difficulties in the
path of those taking on the roles of seven children.
It is not a question of the actors just playing the parts of seven-year-olds
- they have to almost become children if the audience's credibility in the story
and the action unfolding on stage is to be maintained.
Fortunately Canterbury Players managed this and the acting from all seven was
particularly strong with no weak links. Especially impressive were the facial
expressions and exaggerated movements, which are so typical of children.
Although, on the face of it, a play about innocence, childhood and games, the
play carries much deeper and thought provoking insights into the way children
behave and why.
We see them at play, but their make-believe conversations are often a mirror
image of those heard at home from their parents. And thoughout we are shown,
by the children's behaviour, the way the human mind and emotions work and the
sheer cruelty that can result. This is no romanticised view of childhood and
this came over convincingly in the performances by all the actors - Sid
Moon, James Newberry, Ed Clark, Laura Brown, Katherine Durio, John Rye and Samuel
Stolton, who took on this difficult task and rose to the challenge.
Derek Standing's simple and effective set also worked well.
Sponsor:
CATHEDRAL GATE HOTEL: You
too can rest where pilgrims did before Blenheim, the Boyne or even Bosworth
were contested.This ancient and modern hotel provides city centre comfort from
which to brave re-enactments from all ages, even unsettling ones like "The
Birthday Party", assured in the knowledge that a hospitable welcome awaits
you on return. Twisting passageways, low beams and just the occasional ghost
lend drama to the experience, as do the stunning Cathedral and Buttermarket
views. 27 well appointed rooms, Bow-Window restaurant and a cosy bar for that
post-performance palliative. Prices from £22 per person (15% preferment)
on presentation of the programme for "The Birthday Party".
Contact Cathedral Gate Hotel: 36 Burgate, Canterbury. Tel: 01227 464381
or email cgate@cgate.demon.co.uk
The Cathedral Gate Hotel have kindly handed their sponsor's tickets for "The
Birthday Party" back to the Players, for use by drama students and others
who might otherwise not have been able to attend.
Drunken rivals left audience captivated.
Audiences at this "amoral and disgusting" play will find
little to offend in the 21st century, but delicious frissons of
sexual anticipation were gloriously maintained in this production.
Despite two married friends' shared goal of rekindling passion
with their mutual ex-lover Maurice, they were given distinctive
individual personalities.
Anne Hancox made Julia largely confident and serene,
while Samantha Grant's Jane was highly strung and
mildly hysterical.
Of the supporting roles, Jim Ackhurst played Julia's
husband Fred with gentle reasonableness; and Andreas Lowson
as Willy (Jane's husband) reflected the suavity of Coward himself.
Mark Smith as Maurice, tantalizingly
appearing only in the final scene, gave the ex-lover all the Gallic
charm needed for empathy with the besotted ladies and Jill
Ackhurst's expressive facial and body language conveyed
every nuance of the maid Saunders' contempt for the gentry.
Derek Standing's early
modernist set, Susanna Gerken's delightful costumes and Pip
Piacentino's skilled direction all contributed to a stunning
production.
But the greatest acclaim belongs to Hancox and
Grant for their outstanding performances as the
two ladies whose transformation from sophisticated wives to hilariously
drunken rivals so captivated everybody.
|
|
|
| Noel Coward's
"Fallen Angels"
performed by The Canterbury Players
at Whitstable Playhouse
|
Reviewed by:
Delia Dengeon.
Kentish Gazette.
Thursday March27, 2008. |
|
|
OUR SPONSORS FOR "FALLEN ANGELS" WERE:.
Jesters.com
PH Accountancy.
Top of page
Woody Allen's "Play it again, Sam."
Playing it again for the laughs.
Review by Elaine Godden, for the Kentish Gazette, 06 December, 2007.
RELUCTANT hero Allan Felix "plays again" scenes from his recent past
and rehearsals of his anticipated future in this comedy play.
Scraps of both interrupt the action and reflect his vivid imagination, richly
fed by the films he constantly watches, especially those of Humphrey Bogart.
It's no coincidence that Allan' name echoes the surname of the playwright Woody
Allen, wonderfully captured in this production by Pip Piacentino,
encapsulating Allen's personality, by turn self-deprecating and Bogartesque.
Playing opposite Pip was Anne Hancox as his best friend's
wife Linda, conveying warmth and sympathy in every movement and facial expression.
And Andreas Lowson was suitably smooth as Dick, Linda's husband.
Derek Standing's set was eye-catching, as were Susana
Gerken's costumes - and humorous too.
The lighting might have dealt better with the various imaginary appearances,
but such a slight shortcoming did not detract from the colourful, hilarious
and undoubted success of this production.
From JM, audience member: The play went very well I thought
and I was very impressed with the set. I think a really good level of detail
went into it and all concerned should be proud of their efforts.
Top of page
Directed by Pip Piacentino and performed
on 19, 20 & 21 April, 2007 @ The Gulbenkian
Theatre, Canterbury.
Would YOU like to tell us what you thought about the production? Please click
HERE.
| Peter Whelan's
"The Accrington Pals"
The Canterbury Players
Gulbenkian Theatre
|
Reviewed by:
Elaine Godden.
Kentish Gazette. |
|
"A world of women at war."
The effect of the First World War on a close knit group of women in a Lancashire
mill town is the focus of the play.
Peter Whelan's somewhat laborious setting out of their various situations and
his exploration of their frustration in the face of misinformation, as well
as their anxiety and grief, takes considerable time, contrasting with the following
act's shattering drama.
May, an ambitious stall holder is tortured by shame because of her love for
a young lodger who has now become a man. Her narrow upbringing adds guilt to
her confused emotions and she lets him go off to war, without consummating their
passion.
Sarah Gooch played May with harrowing
conviction and Ed Clark as the idealistic,
fresh faced Tom, reacted realistically with alternating exasperation and tenderness.
As the hideous, snarling ghost at the end of the play, he was equally as compelling.
The most powerful acting was from Sharon Gair as Annie, despite
some awkwardness as she manhandled her son, Reggie. As the bitter wife of the
naive and gentle Arthur her twisted features, spat out lines and final, anguished
breakdown, were disturbing to watch.
Josh Bushell as Reggie, and Jim Akhurst playing
Arthur, were convincingly sensitive in their roles.
In Ralph's last letter from the Somme, to his lover Eva, Mark
Smith demonstrated spiritual and physical agony, while Eva's early loyal,
later ambivalent relationship with May, were portrayed with warmth and perception
by Dee Neligan.
Louise Gibbins gave uninhibited realism, candour and dry humour
to her role as Sarah, and Victoria Pym as Bertha was charmingly
young and gauche.
Sergeant Major Rivers was played with unusual sympathy and a commanding presence
by Mike Rivarno.
Derek Standing's sets were professional
and worked faultlessly, and the special effects of smoke and thundering guns
gave a terrifying reality to the scenes at the Battle of the Somme.
This was a resoundingly successful production of a play that could, without
the company's dramatic skills, have floundered in the first act.
Joint sponsors for "The
Accrington Pals":
|
|
|
Top of page
27, 28, 29 April 2006, at the Gulbenkian
Theatre.
| Harold Pinter's
"The Birthday Party"
The Canterbury Players
Gulbenkian Theatre
|
Reviewed by:
Elaine Godden.
Kentish Gazette. |
|
PARTY DESRVED MORE GUESTS.
PINTER is a challenging undertaking for any company; this cast of the The Birthday
Party met it confidently from the outset on a drab, late-50s set.
Pinter's characteristically empty dialogue between the frumpish, middle-aged
seaside couple played convincingly by Patrick Folkard and Sarah
Gooch, was interrupted by their boorish lodger and the plot - disquieting
but never quite explicit - began to unfold.
Elements of the characters' personality, particularly the sullen resentfulness
of Stanley about his predicament, evolving into agoraphobia, sexual disgust
and paranoia (albeit ultimately justified), were the stuff of the drama, not
wholly dependent on the indeterminate nature of the plot, which was left to
the audience to interpret.
Philip Gittins, as Stanley, looked the part in his grubby
pyjama jacket and his facial expressions were eloquent. Later, persecuted by
the two "guests" to his unwanted birthday party, his distress was
palpable and poignant.
Harriet Kemsley as Lulu gave a charming portrayal of her
enigmatic character.
James Newberry and Charlie Jubber, as Goldberg
and McCann, entered with tangible menace and retained it in their dealings with
the other characters.
Both were convincing but Jubber, with his economy of movement, expression,
his apparent gentleness and his tactiturnity, was especially sinister.
All-in-all this was a thoughtful, successful production.
Elaine Godden.
|
MAJOR SPONSOR:
Harold Pinter's "The Birthday Party" was sponsored by:
The Phoenix: A fine real ale public house.
From the CAMRA "Good Beer Guide, 2006". (The Phoenix also appeared
2003, 2004 and 2005 and is one of the few Canterbury pubs to do so)
"Cosy corner pub where cricket memorabilia abounds - the pub is very
handy for the county ground. A continuously changing range of three or
four guest beers come from all over the UK. A popular beer festival is
staged in December. Fun quiz nights are held on Wednesday. Good value
food is available during opening hours but not after 4pm on Thursdays."
The Phoenix
Old Dover Road, Canterbury, Kent.
www.thephoenix-canterbury.co.uk
|
 |
Patrons of the Players, for Harold Pinter's "The Birthday Party".
See the sponsors page
for details on becoming a sponsor, supporter or patron.
DIGITAL VIDEO TRAINING:
dv-training is a company providing a completely fresh approach to digital video
training. Our trainers are industry professionals in all fields and courses
are based on twenty years of experience in designing training programmes for
major TV stations around the world. Our objective is to promote the highest
standards in dv production for media practitioners. Courses all take place
in London, are informal and presented through an enjoyable and relaxed mixture
of hands on learning, combined with a variety of practical exercises relevant
to the needs of each individual delegate.
Contact: 0845 226 5349
Digital Video Training have kindly handed their sponsor's tickets for "The
Birthday Party" back to the Players, for use by drama students and others
who might otherwise not have been able to attend.
CATHEDRAL GATE HOTEL: You
too can rest where pilgrims did before Blenheim, the Boyne or even Bosworth
were contested.This ancient and modern hotel provides city centre comfort from
which to brave re-enactments from all ages, even unsettling ones like "The
Birthday Party", assured in the knowledge that a hospitable welcome awaits
you on return. Twisting passageways, low beams and just the occasional ghost
lend drama to the experience, as do the stunning Cathedral and Buttermarket
views. 27 well appointed rooms, Bow-Window restaurant and a cosy bar for that
post-performance palliative. Prices from £22 per person (15% preferment)
on presentation of the programme for "The Birthday Party".
Contact Cathedral Gate Hotel: 36 Burgate, Canterbury. Tel: 01227 464381
or email cgate@cgate.demon.co.uk
The Cathedral Gate Hotel have kindly handed their sponsor's tickets for "The
Birthday Party" back to the Players, for use by drama students and others
who might otherwise not have been able to attend.
MERRYGARDENS FLORISTS:
Drama queens take note - insist on the recognition you deserve in the shape
of our traditional bouquets, hand ties and presentations which only a highly
trained florist can accomplish. Our flowers come fresh from Holland markets
and local nurseries and so last and last. Impressarios, lovers, apologists and
"just friends": those wilting supermarket and garage flat-packs just
won't stand up. For the result you want only the real thing will do and we deliver
it right to her door or dressing room. Covering East Kent (and the world). 15%
snipped off when you display your programme from "The Birthday Party".
Contact MERRYGARDENS FLORISTS: 96 High Street, DEAL. Tel 01304 374228.
Merrygardens Florists have kindly handed their sponsor's tickets for "The
Birthday Party" back to the Players, for use by drama students and others
who might otherwise not have been able to attend.
ENCOUNTERS: For cooking
courses. At Encounters, our one-day cookery courses, covering various specialities
and using fresh, local and where possible, organic ingredients, are provided
near to Canterbury in Kent.
Contact: Encounters, Garden House, Chillenden, Canterbury, Kent, CT3
1YA.
Tel/Fax: (01304) 841136
TREE-GATE: Tree-gate
provide a range of speciality teas, produced from trees and plants with medicinal
properties, both for drinking and for bathing in. Not only that, but for every
10 packets sold, they plant a new tree, and being Kent based, many of those
are in Kent itself. They also donate 50p to The Woodland Trust for each 10 packets
sold. So, if you'd like to try something new - and help Tree-gate to improve
your local environment - please try their lovely products.
Contact: +44(0) 1304 824190 / 823602
Mobile: +44(0)77886 196855
INTERNET MARKETING KENT LTD.
The Old Sorting Office, 70c High Street, Whitstable, Kent, CT5 1BB
Website provision and maintenance, effective internet marketing campaigns. http:/www.i-m-k.co.uk
Contact: 01227 281611
Internet Marketing Kent Ltd have kindly handed their sponsor's tickets for "The
Birthday Party" back to the Players, for use by drama students and others
who might otherwise not have been able to attend.
Our thanks too, for help with props:
John
Frost Newspapers and Data Reprographics (Telephone 01784 243996), for the
reprint of an original 1950's newspaper used in the production.
|
Top of page
Alan Ayckbourn's "RolePlay"
Directed by Rani Innes and performed on 01, 02 & 03 December,
2005, @ The Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury, Kent.
| 16th December 2005.
Reviewed by:
Elaine Godden.
Kentish Gazette. |
|
|
Excerpt of the review by Michael Pilcher, BBC.
The Canterbury Players performed each of their characters impeccably, with
Ed Clark’s Justin someone you
can truly emphasise with.
Some of the situations may be far-fetched, but the story is well written, funny
– wickedly so at times – and makes for a thoroughly engaging piece.
Below, review by Elaine Godden, Kentish Gazette.
Regarding the set:
".... Docklands flat, brilliantly designed by Derek Standing,
in which the play was set."
And the production:
"Sally Parker must have subdued a large chunk of herself
to play the neurotic frump Julie-Ann so convincingly, yet at the same time win
sympathy in her futile psychological battle against Paige, the hard faced tart.
"Emily Rosen ably revealed the complexities of Paige's
character; adaptability in an impossible social situation, catty flashes of
temper and an underlying vulnerability which seemed at first to exist only in
Justin's imagination.
"Anne Hancox, as his [Justin's] mother Arabella, was
magnificent, the middle aged but stunning alcoholic whose outrageous, batty
behaviour contributed so much to the demise of her son's relationship with his
fiancee.
"Tony Johnson and Irene
Marley were hilarious as Julie-Ann's parents; two provincial bigots
ultimately succeeding in conducting their daughter's life.
"Above all, Mike Rivarno, playing Mickey, almost dominated
the stage with his menacing near silence, but his masterful acting also betrayed
the aggressive inadequacy of Mickey's character ("I don't eat foreign!")
and finally gave him the humanity which allowed Paige her freedom.
"Ayckbourn's drama is typically, more than a riotous comedy. An unerring
psychological insight which works alongside the crazy actions of his dysfunctional
characters and this production was hugely successful in provoking thought as
well as providing entertainment."
Audience response:
"We enjoyed RolePlay so much, please let us know of your next productions."
RM.
"Brilliant, haven't laughed so much in a very long time."
MCS.
"I wanted to hit you - the way you treated Justin!"
Response from member of the audience on the night, to "Julie-Ann".
Canterbury Players would also like to thank all those other Members and
associates who have indirectly helped to make this production possible, especially:
 |
RolePlay's MAJOR SPONSOR:
St. Christophers School
An independent Co-educational day school and nursery for 3 - 11 years.
New Dover Road, Canterbury, Kent.
Sponsor for Alan Ayckbourn's "RolePlay", December 2005
"Where the needs of the child come first."
|
Plus:
Brewers of Maynard Road,
Glass Services Ashford
and
Marley Plumbing
for helping with set requirements
and
David Foster (Plumbing) 01227 830032
for water service requisites. |
)
)
