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Before the Party
Malvern Theatres
***** BEFORE the
party explores the
life of an upper middle-class family after the Second World War as
Britain was trying to recover its equilibrium, when rations were still
an issue, when Nazism and Fascism were still the hot political concerns
of the day. Robert Ackland based the play on a short story by
W. Somerset Maugham which focusses on the Skinner family. Laura has just
returned from Africa after the death of her husband and is embarking on
a new relationship with David Marshall, but as the play develops we
discover there are some skeletons in the cupboard. The play is both comic
and serious: we are greatly entertained by the very Englishness of the
family, by the contrasts and eccentricities of the characters. Blanche
Skinner, Mother, is a cross between Mrs Bennet from
Pride and Prejudice
and Lady Bracknell from The Importance
of Being Earnest. Aubrey, her husband,
is a rather dignified but ineffectual man in the context of his family,
where he is surrounded by women whose occasional hysterical outbursts he
is little able to control. The humour derives from the verbal exchanges, the
characterisations and contrasts, the absurdity of some simple everyday
issues such as a defective door-handle! But beyond the humour and
entertainment there is a more serious, if gentle, satire and exposé of
the hypocrisy and trivialities of their lives, with their prejudices and
very politically incorrect views in today’s world. The family’s obvious disdain for commercial
travellers and those who sit in the cheap seats at the theatre reveal
their snobbishness. The peal of thunder that opens the Second Act
seems to foreshadow the cracking open of the hypocritical shell of their
lives and the moral weakness that permeates their family. The other individual who furthers this is Susan,
the young daughter, whom they try to shield from the harsh realities of
their lives and their brokenness, but who actually is far too
perspicacious to be put off the scent, as she listens at the keyhole and
probes with embarrassing questions. Her words conclude the play: ‘There
is no excuse for grown-ups’ behaviour, they make me sick!’ Ackland’s play is highly reminiscent of Chekhov
with its naturalistic style, its mixture of humour, pathos and exposé,
with its verbal sophistication and wit. Bill Kenwright’s production is a
truly charming evening of subtle entertainment, directed by Tom Conti
who also plays the father, Aubrey Skinner. Tom Conti’s somewhat understated performance is
very entertaining and quietly compelling, where that of Gwen Taylor as
Blanche is more extravagant and hilarious. Her emotional outbursts, her
hysteria at times, along with the times when she is besmirched with mud
and rolling down her stockings provide a huge amount of fun. Aubrey’s attempts to hold the family and the
servant team together reveal a man struggling to cope with life, as he
struggles to answer his daughter Susan’s very pointed questions about
the Bible and Hell! Eleanor Thorn as Susan is quite a thorn in the
side of the family at times as they try to side-track and silence her
and avoid her becoming aware of their embarrassments and shame. Eleanor
does a very persuasive job and carries the role off very successfully. The rest of the cast perform with similar skill
and conviction: Carol Starks, as Laura, and Elizabeth Payne, as her
sister Kathleen, typify the sibling rivalry and jealousy that can easily
lie under the surface of family posturing. Peter Sandys-Clarke is a
charmingly debonair David Marshall and Laoisha O’Callaghan, the Nanny,
completes a strong cast. The set consists of a very stylish and ornate
bedroom of the time with a particularly effective bay window to the
right. It is very well used as at various time members of the household
are addressed from the first floor through it, as well as being the
source of various significant external sound effects. Itis not an action piece that will set all
generations alight, but it is a very delightful and intellectually
stimulating piece, a stylish play that deserves to enjoy good audiences
this week in Malvern. To 03-10-15 Tim Crow
28-09-15
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