HARVEY
Chelmsford
Theatre Workshop at the Old Court
07.04.17
Harvey
first “appeared” on Broadway a lifetime ago, but this pooka pal
has remained popular ever since, due in part to the Jimmy Stewart
movie.
Now
he's haunting the Old Court stage, in a gently amusing production by
Jade Flack.
Elwood
P Dowd, “the
biggest screwball in town” and the
rabbit's constant companion, is given a warmly absorbing
performance by Dave Hawkes, perfectly capturing the sunny innocence
of this harmless eccentric. Strong in support are Lynne Foster as his
desperate sister, with some great moments of physical comedy, and
Alec Clements as Sanderson,
the
callow, charismatic junior doctor at the sanatorium
run by Dr Chumley [Jesse Powis in a memorable bow tie].
Not
all the performances are quite as assured as Hawkes', but there are
nice cameos from Stephanie Yorke-Edwards as Mrs Chumley, Fabienne
Hanley as Aunt Ethel, and Ian Russell as the all-important cab
driver.
Not
many laughs on a thin Friday night, despite the sterling efforts of
some experienced performers, but some excellent work in key scenes;
Sanderson getting advice from Dowd, or left alone on stage with Ruth
[Jade Flack].
And
the scene changes
from The
Dowd Library to Chumley's Rest are very efficiently managed.
1 comment:
An excellent performance by a mix of experienced actors and some that are entering into the world of acting. The 'newbies' more than hold their own in this play which is competently directed by Jade Flack who also plays Nurse Kelly. Lines are delivered well and there are some classic life messages e.g. when the taxi driver explains the effect of the medication about to be given to Elwood so he no longer sees Harvey "... and afterwards he will be just like a normal human and you know what bastards they can be." This is subtle and clever humour mixed with poignant observations of human behaviour. Well worth seeing.
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