National Operatic & Dramatic Association London Region

Society : Chesham Theatre Company

Production : Don’t Dress for Dinner

Date : 10th November 2011

Venue Elgiva Theatre, Chesham

Report by : Rita Carpenter

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INTRODUCTION

Having seen a professional production of this play I was looking forward to seeing it for a second time. This is a well written and very funny play originally by arc Camoletti and adapted by Robin Hawdon.

FRONT OF HOUSE AND PROGRAMME

We were greeted on arrival and given our favourite seats for which thank you very much. The programme was well set out and informative with the NODA logo on the front but was so small as to be almost unrecognizable. Details of the company’s recent award was proudly displayed inside the front cover.. There were photographs of the cast and a brief resume of each character which is always a great help when reviewing together with a synopsis of the play. The programme design by Shevron Burrows was excellent and Jenny Crumpton was responsible for the content. Jenny is also Front of House Manager and is responsible for meeting and greeting which she does extremely well.

STAGING AND SET

The set was superb. Designed by Roger Miller, built by Roger together with Peter Threadgold, Trevor Pilling and Company Members; Gwenda Hudson, Clare Bunce, Helen Salisbury were also responsible for the set painting. The house is described as an old converted farm building and the design portrayed this perfectly. The furniture added to the ambience of the piece. There were plenty of strong doors which opened and closed with ease and are an essential part of any fast moving farce. I particularly liked the old fashioned bell attached to the wall near the front door. Its ringing made for some tense moments during the play.

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LIGHTING AND SOUND

Josh and Louise Rees were responsible for the sound effects which were spot on throughout. Steve Cherry was responsible for lighting. The stage was well lit with no missed areas and the use of the table lamp added an extra dimension.

COSTUMES

These were by members of the group and possibly most of the cast provided their own. The ladies were certainly elegant and the change of costume for the cook was not only extremely funny but a really clever touch. Well done whoever came up with that little gem.

STAGE MANAGEMENT

No performance can run smoothly without good stage management. Clare Bunce assisted by Bob Sloan ensured that everything ran smoothly. Although there were no scene changes everything was in its place when required so congratulations to them both and to Judith Watsham in charge of props.

THE CAST

Rob Smith was credible as Bernard playing the philandering husband with conviction. Diane Robinson was Jacqueline his wife. She played her part well as the cheating wife acting both puzzled with the plot and concerned that her husband would find her out. Ian Slack was excellent as Robert the lover cheating with his best friend’s wife with his facial expressions adding to his fine performance. Priya Kantaria played the glamorous mistress extremely well entering into the plot with conviction. Although only having a small role Alex Micallef was amusing as the husband George, I remember his superb performance in A Respectable Wedding and hope he is given a larger role next time. The accolade for by far the best performance of the evening goes to Mary Murray as Suzette the cook, she was tremendous; her timing was remarkable and she received, and deserved the most laughs of the evening.

IN CONCLUSION

With an excellent well written script Paul Eckersall did an impressive job as Director. Farce has to be fast and furious, just occasionally the pace was a trifle slow but on the whole it was a glorious romp. All the twists and turns were well demonstrated and judging by the audience reaction it was well received. You obviously put a great deal of time and effort in bringing this to the stage and it was a pity the audience although enthusiastic was not larger. Audiences seem to be falling off with many of the shows I review which is a very sad but I guess a sign of the times. I do hope the group did not lose out financially on this and that you will continue to offer the excellent performances we have come to expect of Chesham Theatre Company.

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