Written by John Dole
Directed by Phil Diment
If sheer hard work is the criterion for judging amateur Dramatics, the Medstead Players' production of 'Top Gear' must rank as one of their best.
The final preparations for the show must have taken place at a time when the area was devastated by the storm - no lights, no heating and anxiety as to whether the show could go on at all.
It must have been most disconcerting, but they carried on bravely. The final blow was the last minute upset to Maggie Hillier, who was unable to appear on the first night. It was a comparatively small part but her place was taken very competently by the producer, Ann Penn, who was, to some extent, handicapped by having to read from the script.
The play itself was a ridiculous farce by John Dole, in which most of the humour lay in the frantic rushing about on the stage by all the members of the cast, and the comings and goings of pretty girls in their flimsy underwear.
Ron and Kathy Whitcher took the roles of a young newly married couple immersed in the combined chaos of decorating the flat and frenzied love making. They are thrilled with the prospect of selling their designs for haute couture to a French wholesaler.
The complication is the arrival of a young lodger, who is also a budding designer. Matthew Parratt revels in the part of the unscrupulous artist who, in his early days, had dallied with Anne (Kathy Whitcher).
Anita Prior, as the dominating aunt, seemed rather restrained in the early stages, in contrast to her voluptuous Swedish friend (Anita Simpson), whose own personal designs were centred on the embarrassed Bill (Ron Whitcher).
This was Anita's second appearance with Medstead, and her easy, confident style has made her a very welcome addition to the Society's regular team of versatile ladies. There was a great deal of knock-about comedy, which Stan Whitcher exploited to the utmost.
As the interfering, incompetent, handyman who created havoc and mayhem with every blow of his hammer, he kept the audience laughing every time he appeared on the stage. This he did at frequent intervals, usually from the most unexpected places.
His confrontation with Pam Kercher, the elegant French couturiers, was a riot of improvised slapstick comedy.
Poor Pam was firmly bludgeoned with a heavy object before being finally manhandled into the wardrobe.
As the director, Phil Diment, wrote in the programme notes, farce is the most difficult medium to stage and to act. It imposes a great strain on the cast as accurate timing is most essential. Here the Players knew their lines and their reactions were excellent, but they had to struggle hard to make the most of the poor material, with a few funny lines to keep it alive.
In the last act a pointless game of Monopoly dragged on drearily just as the drama should have been working up for a startling climax.
Probably due to the general feeling of uncertainty as an aftermath of the great storm, there were vacant seats in the hall, but the audience seemed to enjoy the show and there were many outbursts of spontaneous laughter. It would have needed a very experienced professional cast to make a riotous comedy out of this material, but the Medstead Players should be congratulated on making it entertaining.
N.C.
Cast:
Anne Baker - Kathy Whitcher
Bill Baker - Ron Whitcher
Dan, a handyman - Stan Whitcher
Brenda - Maggie Hillier
Helen Phelps - Anita Prior
Freyda Kissing - Anita Simpson
Roger - Matthew Parratt
Madame Madeleine - Pam Kercher
