ACT Reviews 2022-2023 Season

Herr Winkelkopf, who continually came up with ideas of how to do away with a number of Lord Arthur’s relatives. The inclusion of an accent and vacant expression in the scenes made the portrayal quite amusing and he looked like he was having fun at the same time. Ewan Henderson made the most of his role as the palm-reading Podgers. When you do not have a lot of stage time or dialogue it is often hard to make your mark but this was achieved with the use of an accent and confident speaking: likewise, the character of The Dean of Paddington, played by Stephen Moss. He was affable but increasingly frustrated with his nephew’s dithering. The switch of the exploding umbrella was funny. Two other relatives that were target of the young lord were Lady Windermere and Lady Clementina Beauchamp, both played with conviction by Kathryn Fennell and Barbara Steel respectively. The scene where the poisoned chocolate was passed around was a highlight. Who would eat it? To finish the household was Nellie, the maid, or rather Julia Broadbent. There was a sense of comedy about this character that perhaps could have been expanded on more during the play. This play was quite long but did move at a good pace, driven by Mark and David on the whole. Stage Manager, Charles Thomas, made sure that each scene change was conducted as swiftly as possible. The sound effects were timely delivered by Steve Smith, assisted by Jan Taylor. The set designed by Alan Reidsma and decorated by Lisa Barker was functional, with enough props to establish it as homely, but leaving enough space for such a large number of characters to move around freely. The wardrobe for this production was very pleasing on the eye, especially the period dresses for the ladies. I believe that these had to be altered and the team took advice from Jude Craig of Woodford Players. The ladies’ wigs, co-ordinated by Janet Reidsma, also looked very much in keeping of the time. At the start of the production, I was invited to laugh at the antics of Lord Arthur, this I most certainly did!

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