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Stars explained: * A production of no real merit
with failings in all areas. ** A production showing evidence of not
enough time or effort, or even talent, and which never breathes any real
life into the piece – or a show lumbered with a terrible script. *** A
good enjoyable show which might have some small flaws but has largely
achieved what it set out to do.**** An excellent show which shows a
great deal of work and stage craft with no noticeable or major
flaws.***** A four star show which has found that extra bit of magic
which lifts theatre to another plane. |
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Clock mystery in classy drama
Cheers: Vivienne Cole as Annie, Stan Barten as retired colonel Anthony Hewlett and Stefan Austin as neighbour David Freedman In Two Minds The Nonentities The Rose Theatre, Kidderminster **** THIS Richard Harris drama comes expertly
packaged by a cast of four under Victoria Wakeman's direction – and its
success also owes much to the stage crew who move so speedily between
the many snippety scenes. If, for instance, somebody had forgotten to take
that mobile phone offstage in the gloaming, the actor who is required to
make an entrance with it thereafter would have had a distinctly let-down
feeling. Full marks, therefore, for the air of all-round efficiency that pervades this tale of suspicion, with our knowing frowns directed at Anthony Hewlett, retired colonel with many years' service behind him, confidently encapsulated by Stan Barten. Well, if nobody knows where your (second) wife is
and you just happen to have incinerated her clothes, the neighbours are
probably bound to look a bit askance. It has to be said that the colonel does not seem
unduly moved by being the object of unconfirmed theories. Indeed, if
these are the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, he is clearly
armed with a highly satisfactory shield.
In his calculated calmness, he offers a striking
contrast to David Freedman, his new neighbour, who is fretful and awash
with angry energy in this eye-catching portrayal by Stefan Austin. Vivienne Cole is Annie, his pleasingly less
highly-charged partner, and Nikki Fisher is Gina, the reliable daily
help who has emerged from a relationship with a broken arm, a fractured
jaw, two kids, a broom and an air of authority. This is a production that breathes confidence –
but even this is not enough to explain why the author allows us to
depart none the wiser about the clock next door. We never discover why
it prompts anxiety or why Mr Harris, in weaving it into his tale,
presumably thought it ought to. To 28-01-12 John Slim |
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