Wrington DRAMA CLUB

Production pictures

Review of One o'Clock from the House Once again the Wrington Drama Club showed their strength in depth with this humourous take on family relations. The set was simple, static and effective - a crucible for the potent mixing of sisterly conniving and double dealing following the death of their father. Who could outdo the others in their display of filial grief? Who could palm off responsibility for their institutionalised sister? Who would cop for the contents of the will? Echo Irving as Miriam, the pivotal point for virtually all of the action, with great support from Les Morley, initially seemed a less than dutiful daughter - but was revealed as a paragon of virtue once Miche Campbell's miserly, vinegary Margaret arrived: the sucking in of lemons was almost audible! The improvident and pregnant Maureen was played with brio by the (spookily) equally pregnant Kate Foot, while Mavis (the first Mavis!) was brilliantly observed by Pat Milne. Not that the sisters overshadowed the other parts. Noel Hector, as the relative from hell, not to mention Wales, demonstrated once again that Wrington's gain has been Stratford's loss, while Phil Neve was hilarious as the worm that turned - once fuelled by a bottle or two of cider. Sarah Green, superb as Lady Macbeth in the last show, again turned in a performance full of malice and menace as the punk daughter, while Oliver Williams and Robin Sheridan also showed the strength of acting ability amongst the young players. There were fun cameos too from John Dunstone (loved the hair, John), Louise Argent, Simon Medd and Maggie Carpenter. An abiding feature for me was the enormous amount of off-line acting that went on. Mentions would not be complete without applause for the backstage stalwarts: in costumes (Julie Marshall), set (led by Peter Jones) and props - Gaby Sheridan. Director Fred Cowgill certainly extracted the very most from the cast and the script, and the nice mix of acerbic wit and knockabout humour patently hit the mark amongst the audience. The nifty seating arrangement - complete with space for bottles of wine - also assisted in the conviviality of the occasion. A great night's entertainment from an accomplished and highly polished group. TW