If you didn”t laugh. you”d have to cry (Darlington & Stockton Times)
Sounds from the Beach Boys and the Mamas and Papas rippled through the packed house in the Academy Theatre. Gainford.
The “60s tunes from the California bands smoothly set the scene for the four playlets set in the sunny west coast state. performed by the village”s drama club.
A great demand for shows in the past has increased the number of peformances. with tickets on sale for 11 nights instead of ten.
California Suite. by Neil Simon. snatches a glance at four sets of people staying in rooms 203 and 204 in the Beverley Hills hotel. Typically. they ooze wealth and glamour — but this is where the fairy tale finishes.
On the surface. it”s a funny play. David Simpson”s excellent performance as Marvin Michaels. an ashamed adulterer who tries to keep his wife. Millie (Joan White) from seeing the drunken prostitute in his bed. smacks of John Cleese”s antics in the comedy classic Fawlty Towers.
Likewise. all the playlets show truly awful situations which serve to shatter the myth that money brings happiness. Life isn”t all glitz and glamour at the Beverley Hills Hotel. It”s just that if you didn”t laugh. you”d cry.
The ugliest human characteristics come to the fore as Mr and Mrs Warren (Rosemary Thompson and Barrington Wearmouth) squabble over custody of their 17-year-old daughter. Likewise. even an Oscar nomination for Diana Nichols (Veronica Lowery); a British
actress. doesn”t stop her from insulting her Supportive husband. Sidney (Michael Sillars) and getting blind drunk when she doesn”t win.
The two holidaying couples provide another farcical situation in the final playlet. Allan Jones is impressively convincing. accent and all. as the uptight Mort Hollender. and has a perfect foil in Dominic Brown. alias Stu Franklyn. his holiday enemy. especially when the two come to blows after a war on the tennis court. Iris Hillery and Claire Stow play their dramatic. wailing wives.
It was hard not to cringe at their behaviour. but equally hard not to laugh. This slick production carried it all off brilliantly.
Importantly. the plush set well befitted the famous hotel. designed by Kathleen Westgarth. using brand new furniture lent by Stanley Robinson of Feetham”s Showroom in Darlington.