Redlynch Players 
Redlynch Village Hall, Lover, Salisbury 
Philip & Julie McStraw 
26 November 2025
Redlynch Players have a great track record for presenting a diverse range of quality Am Dram, and their reputation is further enhanced with their latest ‘sold out’ production of Two, a play by Jim Cartright – who is probably best known for writing the highly recommended The Rise and Fall of Little Voice.
Redlynch Village Hall has been transformed into the local pub ‘The Redlynch Tap’ – it’s 1989 and Crystal de Silver is performing from the corner stage singing renditions of ‘Abba’ songs through a dodgy PA. If you close your eyes for a moment, you can almost taste the stale beer and spent cigarettes. Stoking up the atmosphere are the unnamed bickering Landlord and Landlady, who banter with their working-class regulars and provide an understanding and sympathetic ear to their travails. A succession of colourful characters pass through the bar during the evening, but the general mood is heavy, at times jolting, as the individual human dramas and back stories are relayed.
The play features 14 individual parts and the standard presentation arrangement is for all of the parts to be played by just two actors! That would be astonishing and really interesting to witness, but Director Ron Perry has taken a different approach with this production and eight Redlynch Players take to the stage (with some taking on more than one role). This alternative approach has worked extremely well and it probably achieves greater depth and intensity in the performances. Anyhow, the end result is serious immersive theatre done well! It isn’t all doom and gloom though, far from it! Genuine humour is conjured up from the mundane and humdrum events of everyday lives. The audience laughs and cries in equal measure.
Without a doubt, all of the cast are experienced, talented and skilled actors. Although this was the opening night, there were no noticeable slips or missed lines, clearly the actors know what they are doing and can be relied upon to do it well. Each one produced a polished performance. Graham Collier is versatile and wholly excellent in the parts of the archetypal Landlord, the local aging lothario Moth, and the feeble Mr Iger. So too is Gina Hodsman as the anguished Landlady. Sarah Newman plays the grotesque bullying Mrs Iger, the simple Alice, (who dreams of being Priscilla Presley), and the drunk jilted ‘Other Woman’. She delivers each part to perfection. Lloyd Perry doubles up as Fred, (who is Elvis to Alice’s Priscilla), and Roy, the violent and nasty partner of Lesley. So believable he is in the part of Roy that you can’t help but want someone to give him a good kicking! Sue Ball gives a finely nuanced performance as the Old Woman, whose only pleasures in life are visits to the local butchers and a daily glass of stout, as she spends her time in caring for her frail husband and the grind of shopping for bargains. It would be remiss to not also mention the first-rate Nicki Salmond, who plays Maudie the guileless girlfriend of Moth, Ali Silver who is Crystal de Silver and Lesley, and Cheryl Webb as Lynne.
This production of Two is Redlynch Players at their very best, including the usual attention to detail being given to the audience seating, stage set, costumes and sound. This is something that’s not to be missed!
