Black Comedy Reviews
- Another theatrical delight from HAmDramS, following on from the success of Noises Off. Danny Haslop was perfectly cast as Brindsley Miller, the young artist trying to get his big break in the creative world. His youth and enthusiasm shine through, and make a perfect contrast to the pompous Colonel portrayed by Chris Thompson. It is the relationship between these two which is the focus of the piece: the young Brindsley always trying to please and impress; the aged Colonel ever picking fault with his host.
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- The gimmick, of course, is that light is dark, and dark is light, an effect well done by the lighting team, where the stage is either bathed in bright light or shrouded in complete darkness, as the script requires. The actors coped with these changes admirably, displaying great command of the stage in the blackouts.
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- As Miss Furnival, Wendy Rolph was a joy to watch, getting progressivly more inebriated as the play went on. In fact, it made one wonder whether there really was gin in the bottle she was habitually swigging from!
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- Geoff Durrant, as the camp antique-shop owner Harold Gorringe, complete with pink socks(!) proved a thorn in Brindsley's side, as Harold's appearance forces Brindsley to return all the antique furniture "borrowed" from the Gorringe flat in order to impress the snobby Colonel.
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- Brindsley's fiancee Carol, played by Emma Newman, and his ex-lover Clea, played by Melissa Ross, contrasted each other nicely: Carol, ever the Colonel's daughter, with her upper-class tones and perfectly coiffed hair; Clea, the arty, hippy type, with her long flowing garments and percussive jewellery. The one, engaged to be married, the other, discarded like an old toy, broken and unloved.
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- Overall, an impressive production, ably directed by Robert Bush, with just the right amount of pathos to make this a 'black' comedy indeed.
