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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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Eerie tale
of the supernatural
Haunting Julia
The Grange Players
Grange Players, Walsall
****
HAS this supernatural thriller by Alan Ayckbourn scared away some of the
company’s most loyal customers? How else
could you explain why only a third of the seats were occupied on opening
night – the smallest audience I have ever seen in the theatre for
amateur productions. Whatever the reason for the
small turnout, the absentees missed a real treat as the story of
prodigal musical genius Julia Lukin’s apparent suicide is probed 12
years after the tragedy. Her heartbroken father Joe arranges a meeting with the girl’s former boyfriend, Andy Rollinson, and somewhat dodgy psychic, Ken Chase, in the attic room where she used to live and work on her music, now lovingly transformed into The Julia Lukin Centre. Self-made Yorkshire
businessman Joe, powerfully played by David Stone, produces tapes which
seem to have picked up the ghostly voice of Julia, but can he convince
the other two men that they are genuine.
Dexter Whitehead is totally
convincing as the ex-boyfriend, now married with a family but with a
little more knowledge of events surrounding Julia’s demise than,
surprisingly, ever came out at the inquest. Even dimming lights, the sound
of a piano being played, and a sudden screeching noise that makes the
audience jump, seems to leave him unmoved, and the doubtful psychic
qualities of Mr Chase, former janitor in the building, add to the
feeling that Joe could be manufacturing the eerie moments. Ian Eaton, who once played the
lead for this company in Jekyll & Hyde, completes an outstanding cast as
Chase, who, it transpires, knew Julia from the time he worked in the
building. All three men handle the
dialogue superbly so that the audience are carried along unsure whether
Julia – dubbed by the media as ‘Little Miss Mozart because of the
quality of music she wrote - really is haunting the premises. The entrance hall to the Julia
Lukin Centre, for instance, is warm while her adjoining room is cold. Produced and directed with
great attention to detail by Martin Groves, the play has a particularly
chilling climax in which the splendid set, designed by Groves and
splendidly constructed by a team of seven, plays a huge part with the
appearance of a huge blood stain and numerous items crashing to the
ground or collapsing in a heap. This is the only play
Ayckbourn has written for an all-male cast…..though the ‘presence’ of
one woman is certainly a major feature. The Grange Players is the
first amateur company in the West Midlands to receive the rights to
perform the drama, and they have made an excellent job of it. To
24-05-14 Paul Marston
14-05-14 |
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