BUILDING BLOCKS
Little
Baddow Drama
at
the Memorial
Hall
30.04.2014
Bob
Larbey's soft-core sitcom tells a familiar tale of broken promises,
missed deadlines and endless tea-breaks – awakening painful
memories for anyone who has ever had the builders in.
Ken
Rolf's assured production has a splendidly solid set, complete with
scaffolding and a cement mixer, as well as a very
convincing cast of characters.
Little
Baddow veteran John
Peregrine plays
David, glib boss of the local construction company, erecting a
baroque edifice of excuses and placating his frustrated customers
with gamebirds, rabbits and oysters. His men – boasting builders'
bellies and boots – were excellently done by James Oakley as Mark,
the wryly comic John Mabey as Piper, and Mike Gordon as the elusive
chippie Brian, using his newly sharpened tools to construct a ham
sandwich.
The
young couple – who
want an extension to welcome their new baby – were Martin Lucas as
the wimpish, spineless schoolteacher Jim, and Sara Thompson as his
long-suffering wife Mary; the look on her face as she returned
triumphant from her pregnancy test was a touching, memorable moment
in a piece not long on subtlety.
And
I liked the three lads on the garden bench, gently mocking their
guvnor, as well as the thoughtful epilogue on the same bench, with
the builders gone, the extension complete, and a calmer future as a
family to look forward to.
production photograph by Barry Weight
