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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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Clever thriller with a touch of class
Staff meeting: Irene (Deb Attwood), Dorian (Phil Sheffield), Aileen (Karen Whittingham), Frank (Tony Stamp), Rachel (Jane Williams) and Mrs Gregory (Liane Purnell) and Rose (Georgia Instone). Death in High Heels Dudley Little Theatre Netherton Arts Centre **** THE stitch and bitch world of haute
couture gets its seams in a real twist one of the staff in the poshest
of posh frock shops heads off to that great wardrobe in the sky after
collapsing and sewing her last in the staffroom. Was it an accident, suicide, murder most foul?
Sit back and enjoy as this intriguing Richard Harris play unravels the
secrets and foibles of the staff until the police find the answer. Harris is a prolific writer for TV with series
including The Avengers, A Touch of Frost, The Sweeney, Shoestring
and the wonderful sitcom based on his stage play Outside Edge. This cleverly constructed play, published last
year, is set in Christophe et Cie, a small fashion house in Regent
Street in the 1930s and is based on the 1941 novel of the same name by
Christianna Brand. Brand was a salesgirl at the time and the novel
is based, apparently on her fantasies about killing off an annoying
co-worker – a common enough pastime; I had a boss once where I suspect
the queue of underlings who would happily have killed him off would have
stretched from here to Aberdeen – in double file. DLT have done an excellent job with the costumes.
I am no fashion expert, comfort above couture is my motto, but it
certainly looks authentic and as for the accents . . . All credit to the cast for not only managing but
also maintaining those clipped, oh-so-proper English tones that used to
be a feature of soft focus, black and white films that used to be a
feature of Sunday afternoon television. This was a cast without a weak
link. We had Frank Bevan, played by Tony Stamp, who had inherited the
business from his father and, with the power of hire and fire, promotion
and pay in his back pocket indulges his penchant for the adies. He is about to announce who he will be promoting
to manage his new shop opening in Deauville – a bit more upmarket then
than now. Whatever the decision it will put the cat, or cats among the
pigeons. The first pigeon is Irene Best, the senior
saleswoman played by Deb Attwood, who is prim and proper, dull and
dependable. We don't know much about her and at the end we still don't,
except her husband was a birdwatcher who dies from blood poisoning after
a peck on the nose. Then there is Zelda Gregory (Liane Purnell) who
sees herself as No 2 to Frank, she is loyal, inconsiderate, bullying and
always telling tales to the boss. Set against here is New Zealander Caroline Doon,
played by Jackie Bevan who kept a difficult accent well. She arrived as
a sales assistant and is now designer. She can be kind and cruel in the
same sentence. Rachel Gay (Jane Williams) is the newcomer, only
there two years. She is quite, demure, always seems to be on the verge
of tears and is in the midst of a messy divorce with a secret she is
afraid will give her soon-to-be-ex husband ammunition against here. Like a breath of fresh air we have Aileen
Wheeler, the mannequin, played with sexy allure, cami-knickers and
suspenders - and great fun by Karen Whittingham. She models dresses for the customers too precious
to try them on themselves and is flighty, flirty and on the lookout for
a man with a man-sized wallet to take her and sees life as something to
enjoy, despite Miss Gregory, and despite the secret she carries with
her. Then there is the office manager Dorian Pouvier,
played with delicious, mincing campness by Phil Sheffield. Not
surprisingly in a shop full of closets he has another guilty secret
hidden away in one of them. Dorian, nicknamed Dora, has been coming in
for some verbal gay bashing of late, particularly from Miss Doon, who
appears to have a real doon on him, so to speak. Flitting around, slowly, is Rose Macinerny,
played by Georgia Instone. She is a sort of cleaner come gofer, come
general dogsbody – who has yet another secret and this one relates to
Miss Doon! So when one of the number appears wide-eyed,
clutching her throat and choking, and falls down dead, time for first
the interval and then the police in the shape of Insp Charlesworth,
played by James Silvers and his cynical sidekick Sgt Lillian Wyler,
(Rebecca Clee), a no-nonsense copper who trusts no one. The first act built up the relationships,
tensions and loyalties nicely, but Act two suffered a little from a few
too many prompts, excellently done by Gina Lovell by the way. Give the line clearly and quickly. Too many
prompts whisper in the hope the audience won't notice. The will and will
notice even more if the actors can't here the line. The problem with prompts is that they introduce
pauses with break up rhythm and momentum which is a pity as the play,
directed by Lyndsey Parker, was moving along at a really good pace,
taking the audience with it is more and more was revealed. Still, from experience, that will be sorted
quickly to leave an intriguing, well paced and cleverly constructed
thriller which keeps you guessing right to the end. Roger Clarke |
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