ARSENIC AND OLD LACE

ARSENIC AND OLD LACE

Blitzed at Brentwood Theatre

29.11.12

Joseph Kesselring's classic piece has plenty to say about drama critics, and the "death of the theatre". But it has remained perennially popular since it hit Broadway in 1941.

Blitzed brought it to Brentwood in Wendi Sheard's painstaking production, with an ominously ticking longcase clock, and wallpaper almost worth a character credit in its own right.

The black comedy was well served by two actors in particular – Darren Matthews as the sinister Jonathan, who, while hardly a dead ringer for Karloff, was disturbingly convincing as a man who's had his face reconstructed by a crazy surgeon, played with relish and an uncanny accent by William Wells.

The other Brewster brothers were Neil Gray as the journalist, with some nice one-liners and a great way with puzzlement and panic, and Gary Catlin very watchable as Teddy, charging upstairs, convinced he's President. Excellent support from Iain Attiwell as would-be lodger Gibbs.

Sophie Howlett looked the part – coiffure, couture, cosmetics – as Mortimer's fiancée, and the two sweet old spinsters with the lethal elderberry wine were Nicola Stacey and Dawn Cooke, very impressive in their funeral garb.

Snappier pace and bigger, bolder performances would have made this three-acter even more enjoyable, but the audience reacted warmly to the macabre mayhem in pre-war Brooklyn.

production photos by Emily Catlin

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

Blitzed! at the Brentwood Theatre

29.07.10

“Come, write me down, ye powers above …”

The old folk song was an appropriate opener to a play that harks back well beyond Shakespeare's time. The choice of music was one of the strengths of Neil Gray's pocket production - ”short as any dream”.

Lots of stylish touches – the white-faced fairies, led by elegant, if not always eloquent, Oberon [a mischievous interpretation from Darren Matthews, an impressive stage presence] and his Queen [Emma Feeney] with Dawn Cooke's un-gentle Puck boldly played as a sulky drudge. The lovers were nicely differentiated: Gemma Salter's sweet Hermia, with her backpack and her conventional boyfriend [a likeable Will Fox] against the painted maypole of Laura Hughes and her Demetrius [Matthew Jones] with his dubious dress sense. Their quarrel quartet was one of the strongest points of the show.

Neil Gray was a believable luvvie Weaver, leading his ragged troupe, tee-shirted for their interlude.

Theseus [Alex Muckersie] had a voice that was easy on the ear, but was one of the actors affected by memory losses in the last act. There were also occasional outbreaks of Random Stress Syndrome, but generally this trim, tightly staged treatment of Shakespeare's magical comedy made for a delightfully enjoyable evening.


photograph by Dawn Cooke