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A festive tale to warm the heart The Holly and the Ivy Malvern Festival Theatre **** TWELVE years
after Middle Ground first began touring Wynyard Browne's Christmas drama
The Holly and the Ivy;
the company have successfully brought it back to Malvern in a
beautifully adapted piece. Directed by Michael Lunney, the cast, crew and
production team have gracefully recreated this heart-warming tale. Middle Ground was founded in 1988 and began its
first national tour covering the Highlands and Islands of Scotland
performing in castles and hotels before reaching number one tour
locations. Now having mounted over 40 productions including
The Importance of Being Earnest, The Return of Sherlock Homes
and Far from the Madding Crowd it appears to be a theatre company
on a roll. In 2010, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de
Lune and Colombo brought Hollywood stars Kelly McGillis and
Dirk Benedict to UK theatres for the first time. In 2012 a brand
new production of On Golden Pond will tour the UK starring Stefanie
Powers of Hart to Hart fame alongside the great RSC actor Richard
Johnson – and Behind the Arras reviewer Tom Roberts!
Set around Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 1947,
The Holly and The Ivy meets the family of the elderly Reverend
Martin Gregory as we follow the familiar formula of the gathering
together of the family for Christmas. The clan consists of a faithful and devoted
daughter, played by Julia Mallam who is a marvel to watch as she sweetly
and dutifully takes care of her rather more selfish relatives; namely
her estranged sister (Corrinne Wicks), her brother (Chris Grahamson),
and two stoic and squabbling aunts played brilliantly by Joanna Wake and
Sally Sanders. Stuart McGugan does a good job as the somewhat
oblivious Reverend who slowly begins to understand the troubles that lie
behind each one of his children as the extraordinary revelations unfold
amongst smouldering tensions, but also with some nice touches of humour.
The set is beautifully crafted with great attention to detail, effective
lighting and with a subtle background of carols and church bells, the
atmosphere is completely apt for this post-war festive scene. Essentially this is a play about selflessness,
loneliness, morals and expectations and certainly leaves one to ponder
on one's own family expectations across the generations. It
moves at a gentle pace and is definitely enjoyable, but as a slight
criticism, I am not sure if worthy of two intervals as it's hardly
exhausting to watch and with no scene changes, three acts seemed a
little indulgent. It is however a warmly despondent play , worth a
viewing if only to bring a little of the human touch to all the
commercialism that will undoubtedly over shadow the Christmas countdown
that lies ahead. To 03-12-11 Johanna Brand
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