Dream performance
(Teesdale Mercury)
Gainford Drama Club have once again surpassed themselves with their latest production. “Bedroom Farce” by Alan Ayckbourn is a two-act play which is currently being performed at the Academy Theatre, Gainford.
Principally a comedy, the play is set in the 1970s, in the bedrooms of three couples and deals with the sleepless night that occurs after a fourth couple have an argument.
However, there are more serious moments, and the characters are very well portrayed. Everybody will know somebody like Ernest, (John H Robinson); whose only interest seems to be where the damp is getting in and the homely Malcolm and Kate ~Allan Jones and Iris Hillery) will also be familiar to many people.
Each member of the cast, directed by Joan Hillery-Robinson, performed their role extremely well, and the humour and pathos of each scene was timed to perfection.
Some particularly memorable performances included Joan White as the Hyacinth Bucket-esque Delia. Despite being confined to a bed for the whole play, Dominic Brown had the audience in stitches as the grumpy Nick. His attempts to reach for a book while in bed with a bad back is not to be missed.
The backstage staff should also be complimented on their achievements. The set designers did a wonderful job of overcoming the practical difficulties of fitting three bedrooms onto a small stage, and the wonky dressing table was fantastic. Those in charge of lights also did a great job, seamlessly lighting scenes in different bedrooms. The hair and make-up was also very realistic and reminiscent of the seventies era.
Although the play runs until Saturday, if you haven”t got a ticket you may be out of luck. The entire run of 10 performances sold out in advance.
Gainford in uproar at drama club”s funniest (Darlington & Stockton Times)
Gainford drama club”s latest production has had the village”s Academy theatre in uproar for the last two weeks with one of its finest offerings yet.
Playing to packed houses, the cast of eight taking part in Bedroom Farce, a comedy set in the 70s, brought tears of laughter to the eyes with their brilliant timing and delivery of Alan Ayckbourn”s wonderfully funny script.
The action took place in three bedrooms of mutual friends and family following a disastrous house warming party~ which ended prematurely with the only guests left -Trevor and Susannah – the couple not wanted in the first place.
In a faultless performance by the entire cast, Dominic Brown, as the ill-fated Nick has to be singled out as superb. Confined to bed with a bad back while his voluptuous wife Jan, played by Jan Richardson-Wilde, had a brief entanglement with ex-lover Trevor at the party, his moans and groans as he attempted to retrieve his book from the floor were hilarious.
A fight scene involving Trevor and Susannah (played by Chris Gibbon and Claire Bell) and a teddy bear, was superbly farcical. It was surpassed only by the building of a lopsided bedside cupboard in the middle of the night by Malcolm (Allan Jones) after being told by wife Kate (Iris Hillery) that he was boring. This in turn was topped by Trevor who, in an effort to level the cupboard, succeeded in razing it to the ground.
In all the mayhem, with characters popping in and out of the three bedrooms portrayed as nothing out of the ordinary,Trevor”s long-suffering father Ernest (John H Robinson) and his harpy wife Della (Joan White); must not be overlooked.
Harry Robinson and Bob Blythe also deserve a mention for their clever lighting of the three bedrooms, which although on stage together allowed them to be viewed quite separately as the action moved on.
The play was beautifully directed by Joan HilleryRobinson, with a clever set design by Richard Stephenson.
Others involved in the excellent production, which ends its run tomorrow, were Val Stephenson, Jane Graham, Jean McCann, Paul Richardson, Helen Shepherd, Jennie Dobson, Diana Peat, Pam Westgarth, Peggy Conway, Enid Burdon and Avis Tucker.