Reviews

Broadstone Players     War Memorial Hall, Broadstone  Jill Richmond  16 May  2023 Claude Magnier’s first comedy Monsieur Masure, published in 1956, was award winning and career launching and was later brought to the screen in 1968 with ‘What were you doing when the lights went out?’ staring Doris Day. Robin Maugham’s English adaptation Odd Man In was presented in London at the St Martin’s Theatre in 1957 to much success and enjoyed long runs around the world. It is surprising with such a history that Odd Man In is not seen more often nowadays, although in some part this may

Lymington Players     The Malt Theatre, Lymington Community Centre, Lymington Anne Waggott  7 May  2023   Confusions is a set of five one-act interconnecting plays written in the 1970s by Alan Ayckbourn, each a standalone narrative about different aspects of relationships, but with a thread running through the individual storylines that ties one to the other, much like the links between the individual protagonists involved. Lymington Players have decided to perform four of these plays for their May production and I was honoured to watch their dress rehearsal. In The Mother Figure, Victoria Sandford (Lucy) was the epitome of a

Revive Theatre   Mowlem Theatre, Swanage JJ  6 May  2023   I was shocked to realise that I had never seen this well-known local theatre favourite by Frederick Knott. I was therefore delighted to have the opportunity of seeing Revive Theatre’s production at the Mowlem Theatre, Swanage. I had not been to the Mowlem for some time, and it was a pleasure to return there and sample the delights of the new Show Bar. It was wonderful to see a capacity audience. Set in London in the 1950s, former tennis pro Terry Wendice (Dean Rawson), who married for money, finds out

Lyndhurst Drama & Musical Society  Vernon Theatre, Lyndhurst Darren Funnell   28 April  2023 Plays, like Bus Stop by William Inge, are so evocative of place in time and aspic values, that the best and only course is to treat the writing with care, craft and deliver a postcard from the past. This is what the Director, Brian Buck, does with great skill at Lyndhurst Drama and Musical Society. A small-town Diner in the mid-Fifties somewhere west of Kansas City, with Eisenhower on the wall, and a snowstorm raging. The trope of stranded travellers in a remote and unfamiliar place works because

Milton Musical Society  Regent Centre, Christchurch Jill Richmond  26 April  2023 What a triumph. Quite simply, get your tickets now and don’t miss out!! This is a production that you will remember for your lifetime. Clap your hands and stamp your feet, Kipps – the new half a sixpence is a flash bang wallop of a show performed at the beautiful Regent Theatre with a truly brilliant band and a performance fit for the West End. Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey, wrote the 2016 book which he titled Half a Sixpence based on HG Wells’ semi auto-biographical 1905 novel

Maskers Theatre Company  Maskers Studio, Shirley, Southampton Hannah-Cait Harrison    24 April  2023 This torrential Monday evening saw me wending my merry way to the Maskers Studio in Shirley, to enjoy an evening of unexpected and exciting theatre that was well worth venturing into a storm for. Gormenghast is a show I had never had the pleasure of encountering before this evening, and after tonight’s show, I shall definitely keep an eye out for future productions. The clever stylings of director Anna Hussey, had me “ooo”ing and “ahh”ing at her expert use of the stage and what could only be