3LATIONSHIPS - Review

By Chris Moss - News Editor at Harlow Star

"Review: Bar & Ger + A Talk In The Park + Wanda's Visit, Harlow Theatre Company

AS a vehicle for debut directors to test-drive their abilities, the one-act play is hard to beat.

Harlow Theatre Company’s annual celebration of the theatrical short has unearthed some genuinely talented debutants in the past – and this year's festival was no exception.

A three-pronged deconstruction of human relationships, the programme opened with a heart-wrenchingly tender tale of the unbreakable bond between a mischievous younger brother and his ambitious big sister.

Cleverly told in flashes of episodic dialogue, Martin Colton’s beautifully restrained adaptation of Geraldine Aron’s Bar & Ger followed the inseparable siblings from schoolday scrapes to teenage tantrums before ending on the emotional sucker punch of fast-living Bar’s adolescent tragedy.

The play demanded two extraordinary performances from its cast members, and the incredibly versatile Gemma Lee (Ger) and Dan Thomas (Bar) didn’t disappoint.

The brother/sister dynamic was entirely believable and both showed tremendous composure in tackling an emotionally-charged script without pushing the play into overt sentimentality.

Next up was Gavin Williams’ take on the Alan Ayckbourn comic short A Talk In The Park, in which the attempts of five strangers to connect with one another fall on deaf ears.

Gently poking fun at the absurdity of everyday interactions, this was a frequently funny if straightforward riff on emotional isolation which drew solid performances from all five cast members.

Completing the bill was Christopher Durang’s sharply-observed comedy Wanda’s Visit, the frequently hilarious tale of an unhappily married couple whose flatlining relationship is jolted back to life by the appearance of the weak-willed husband’s zany ex-girlfriend.

Tautly directed by Dolleen Howlett, the fast-paced farce had the opening night audience in stitches from start to finish, largely due to a larger-than-life performance from Andrea Thorpe as wacky wannabe wife Wanda and a brilliantly sardonic turn by Alyssa Upton as prim and proper love rival Marsha.

Three fantastic plays from three promising directors. On this evidence, HTC’s future looks very bright indeed."

Well done to all invloved! If you fancy directing something with HTC yourself, please do This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it !

Outside Edge Review

By Chris Moss - Harlow Star

MORE than 30 years since it was first staged, Richard Harris’s classic cricketing comedy is still hitting audiences for six.

Outside Edge

But then time stands still on the village green, where generation after generation of fiercely competitive gents have been living out their sporting fantasies for hundreds of years - and will continue to do so for as long as their forgiving wives agree to make the tea.

As the setting for a gentle satire of aspirational Middle England-types, it’s as sound as a well-rolled wicket - although the play is less concerned with the actual thwack of leather on willow than the off-pitch interaction between the bedhopping batsmen and their jealous other halves.

And with a superb ensemble cast – cricket is a team game, after all – impressive set and impeccable direction, Harlow Theatre Company’s rip-roaring production brought these volatile relationships vividly - and hilariously - to life.

The focus never strayed too far from officious club captain Roger (played with masterful timing and bumbling brilliance by Richard Parsley), a bundle of nervous energy desperately trying to hold his easily distracted teammates together ahead of a crunch match against their sworn enemies.

But even his whiter-than-whites marriage to prim-and-proper housewife Miriam (a sparkling - if all-too-rare - turn from Jane Prangnell) is sullied by shock revelations of the increasingly frazzled captain playing away from home in Dorking.

But theirs isn’t the only marriage on the rocks – acid-tongued ice maiden Ginnie (an ice-cool Catherine Petherpridge) is also convinced that her hubby, boozy all-rounder Bob (an assured performance by Steve Hannam), is up to his old tricks as slimy, would-be womaniser Dennis (a solid first HTC performance from newcomer Mike Hughes) helps stir the pot.

In fact, it’s only diminutive spin-bowler Kevin (a cheeky, chirpy Kyle Jaggers) and his domineering wife Maggie (a show-stealing turn from the talented Amanda Bailey) who seem happy, and it’s their bawdy banter and topsy-turvy relationship that provide the biggest laughs of the evening.

The comedy may have been straightforward and the script none-too taxing, but with such strong performances and direction it was impossible not to be bowled over by yet another high-scoring HTC production.

Helpful Hints

Needing more information?

Download information documents directly from the site!

Every now and again, Harlow Theatre Company looks for new people to set up to the challenge and tackle some of the backstage jobs that are essential in every show.

Well, if your are interested in doing this, you only need to go to our Backstage section to find out. But there's more! We have also started to attach downloadable documents that give you a more detailed breakdown of that role and we have started with one ofthe most important ones first - Production Manager!

Simply have a look on the page and click on the link which says 'Open it here'!

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