National Operatic & Dramatic Association London Region
Society : Chesham Theatre Company
Production : Old Money
Date : 21st March 2015
Venue : The Little Theatre by the River, Chesham
Report by : Rob Bertwistle, Regional Rep. District 12
Show Report
Many thanks to Diana Robinson your co-secretary for inviting me to review your latest production - Old Money - for NODA. On this occasion I was standing in for Judith Watsham who, as a member of the group (and closely involved with the production) was of course unable to write the review herself.
Thank you so much for the very warm welcome from Front of House member, Carline Van Der Pol and co-secretary, Emily Culverhouse. It was also very nice to meet and to have a brief chat with the play’s director, Mike Consden before the performance began.
The Production:
This was a beautifully written piece by contemporary playwright, Sarah Wooley, set in the not too distant past – 2008 to be exact! This production was a delight - from the opening lines to the final curtain. However, the ending was a little odd in that the audience was not quite sure that it had actually finished – so the hesitant final applause must have left the players wondering if their efforts had been appreciated. I can quite firmly say – they needn’t have had any doubts!! The audience on the evening I attended was buzzing with praise and positive ‘vibes’!
The story was by turns funny, poignant and even at times, quite dark but the talented cast maintained the vitality and freshness of the piece throughout the two or so hour performance. The characters were all very believable and the staging was simple - yet clever and innovative, utilising the relatively small playing area to great effect.
The cast:
Joyce was played wonderfully by Judy Consden. She really captured the repressed yet soon to ‘blossom’ middle-aged, newly widowed woman at the centre of the drama. In the opening scene ‘Joyce’ does not speak - although she is on stage for most of the time. This was handled very well as it is quite difficult to convince an audience in a characterisation without speech. When Joyce did find her voice we certainly knew about it! There were some wonderful nuances in this performance – a turn of the head, a wry smile – which gave the character real depth. Excellent diction and stage presence.
Pearl – Joyce’s cantankerous and overbearing mother – was played to perfection by Eleanor Phillips. Here again was a beautifully observed and finely drawn characterisation. Excellent stage presence and good diction made this performance a joy to watch.
Liz Glover, as Joyce’s harassed and cash-strapped daughter, Fiona, was very good. Again a very believable characterisation which could so easily have slipped into caricature but didn’t. I liked the daughter/mother and granddaughter/grandmother relationships which had genuine warmth even though the relationships were rather ‘strained’ at times. The portrayal of the desperate money problems facing the character was very realistic. Again, good diction, facial expressions and stage presence.
I noted this was Nick Priest’s first outing with CTC and I’m sure it will not be his last. His interpretation of Fiona’s work-shy, frustrated rock musician husband - Graham - was wonderfully underplayed. I’m sure ‘Graham’ did have a heart, we did catch a few glimpses of the evidence although he was mostly dependent on ‘Joyce’ for cash handouts and baby-sitting duties. Good diction and stage presence made this a convincing portrayal.
Candy, Joyce’s newly acquired ‘stripper’ friend, was beautifully observed by Amy Hill. This character was full of grit but there were some wonderful moments of pathos as we learned more about the life of this ‘lady of dubious means’. The gradual development of this unexpected friendship was handled with subtlety and charm. This was a very believable performance with good diction and stage presence.
Paul Eckersall and Martin Osborne as Man One and Man Two respectively gave well observed cameo performances as two gentlemen who Joyce encounters on her ‘journey’ to liberation. Paul’s ‘Man One’ was gentle and restrained and contrasted well with Martin’s rather crude and vulgar ‘Man Two’. Well done gentlemen both performances did you credit.
Last, but by no means least, Torr Hiley, Mary Seraphim and Gordon Peyton completed and complimented this talented group of actors by taking on a variety of roles including - a very believable, unseen (but very much heard!) couple of very boisterous children – a waiter, a barman and a hospital porter. Small roles in themselves but none the less important to the construction of the play.
The Director:
The play was directed with obvious love and dedication by Mike Consden. There were some memorable and moving performances from his very committed cast. Each character was well drawn and realised with good use of the playing area. I would just say that I had the impression that much of the action was played towards the front of the stage. Perhaps more use of the depth of the stage would have given slightly differing and interesting ‘pictures’. However, the slick scene changes were executed brilliantly and the pace never faltered.
The Set:
Designed and built by Roger Miller and Peter Threadgold and ably assisted by cast members this set was quite basic but worked very well. I liked the back projection to show the location of the scene but I’m sure constraints of space prevented the pictures from being larger which would have made for a more realistic background. However this clever idea removed the need for complicated and time consuming scene changes and the assorted rostra doubled up very effectively for a variety of situations from a couch in a living room to a bar in the pub. Very ingenious! Another clever touch was the use of assorted ‘working’ ceiling lights which were lowered into place as the various room locations changed. So simple - yet so effective!!!
Costume and make-up:
The costumes by Mary Murray and cast members were all in keeping with the style and period of the piece and, being set in modern times, the costumes were, I should imagine, fairly easy to source. Similarly the make-up, by Pauline Richards, looked natural and had been applied well.
Sound, lighting and special effects:
These three important areas were in the capable hands of Leon Pilling, Steve Cherry and Roger Thomas. The lighting was unobtrusive yet enhanced each scene and as stated earlier, the lowering of a ceiling light was most effective. The sound was always on cue and the sound effects happened when they should have. I liked the use of the old record player in the scene where Joyce was reliving her youth.
Props:
There was a wide variety of props, sourced by Judith Watsham, which the cast used to great effect - the afore-mentioned record player being one of the most striking amongst them. (It took me back to my youth!!!)
The Programme:
Andrew Murray designed and compiled the programme which contained interesting information about the production. This included a brief biography of the author, notes from the director and some interesting background information on the actors. I particularly liked the amusing front cover design – very appropriate!
I know how much time and effort goes into the planning, rehearsing and the staging of a production so may I thank all those, too numerous to mention individually, who were connected in any way with this particular one. I had a very enjoyable evening with you all and look forward to hopefully being asked to your next production - with which I wish you every success.
Best wishes,
Rob
Rob Bertwistle
Regional representative
NODA London
District 12
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