A ONE MAN PROTEST
at
the Mercury Theatre, Colchester
19.04.13
Here
we
are,
into
the
second
of
the
four
linked
plays
chosen
to
feature
across
the
Made
in
Colchester
season.
If
you
missed
Events
on
a
Hotel
Terrace,
you'll
not
know
that
all
sixteen
possible
combinations
start
with
"How
It
Began"
and
the
butterfly-effect
decision:
to
smoke
or
not
to
smoke.
This
time,
we
move
on
to
A
Visit
from
a
Friend,
through
Confessions
in
A
Garden
Shed,
to
A
One
Man
Protest
[the
meat
of
this
piece]
and
the
final
choice,
which
turns
out
to
be
… no,
you
need
to
discover
that
one
for
yourself,
as
the
shed
and
the
decking
disappear
to
reveal
a
deserted
churchyard.
This
one
is
mostly
about
Miles.
Chair
of
Governors,
well-meaning,
unhappily
married
to
the
serially
unfaithful
Rowena.
A
perfectly
observed
character
– I'm
sure
I've
met
him
– superb
as
he
rehearses
his
speech
to
the
Board,
and
much
later
his
reunion
with
the
children
he's
not
seen
for
five
years.
"Why
does
it
always
happen
to
me,"
he
asks,
like
many
another
Ayckbourn
anti-hero.
He's
the
almost
innocent
object
of
the
two
attempted
seductions
in
Act
One,
and
even
the
third,
mock
seduction
is
for
his
benefit,
really,
though
by
this
time
he's
locked
himself
in
the
shed,
living
like
an
anchorite,
but
with
room
service,
and
the
three
women
in
his
life
loitering
outside,
each
of
them
convinced
that
the
lines
from
Wordsworth
refer
to
her.
And
of
course
all
three
are
played,
heroically,
by
Ruth
Gibson,
swapping
wigs
and
characters
in
a
trice.
Apart
from
the
silly,
childish
[but
not
especially
"bovine"]
Rowena,
she's
also
the
brisk
Celia,
whose
garden
this
is,
and
the
vacuous
Sylvie,
Mrs
Bell's
eldest,
the
skivvy
who
comes
round
to
the
idea
of
coastal
walking
with
Miles.
He's
played
by
Gwynfor
Jones,
who
makes
memorable
appearances
in
two
supporting
roles:
Toby
[Celia's
hard-drinking
headteacher
husband],
not
so
much
an
"incoherent
slob"
as
a
boorish,
Cleesey
character
in
a
flat
cap,
and
the
loutish
Lionel,
school
groundsman,
proving
his
prowess
by
running
on
the
spot
in
his
Superman
undies.
Robin
Herford's
production
is
perfectly
judged
– just
enough
farce,
plenty
of
raw
humanity
too,
and
comedy
that
comes
naturally
from
the
characters.
And
technically
it
all
works
brilliantly,
bar
one
sticky
moment
with
the
smouldering
shed.
Two
more
Intimate
Exchanges
to
come,
featuring
the
same
cast
of
characters
– "A
Pageant"
in
May,
and
"A
Game
of
Golf"
in
June.
And
if
you
missed
Lionel's
cream
teas
in
the
first
offering,
"Events
on
a
Hotel
Terrace"
will
be
revived
for
three
shows
only
at
the
end
of
April.
this piece first appeared on The Public Reviews
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