2nd-5th February 2011

 

The middle play of the 2010-2011 season was 'Season's Greetings'. Alan Ayckbourne's plays have come to be as close to a surefire hit as the players can get. This was a second outing for this play and one of the cast this time round played a different part in the 1994 production!

Audiences love Ayckbourne's work and in recent years productions of 'Absurd Person Singular', 'Confusions', 'Comic Potential', 'Relatively Speaking' and 'Communicating Doors' have all been very successful.

'Season's Greetings' was directed by Barrie Atchison. The cast were Tom Rowley, Brian Asbury, Sarah Stanley, Amanda Robinson, Bill Killick, Steve Appleyard, Charlotte Bodger, Rosemary Bodger and Ian Davies. Set was by Jim Worrallo and the puppets were created by Caroline and Nigel Lowe.

Amanda Robinson as Pattie, Brian Asbury as Bernard, and a pig

REVIEW:

JUST when you thought Christmas was over for another year, here comes Alan Ayckbourn's little cracker about a festive party for the Bunker family and friends.
...
It's an entertaining comedy, if a shade slow getting into top gear. Two scenes at the end of the first act and just before the close had large audiences in stitches.

The first highlight sees blonde hostess Belinda Bunker, enthusiastically played by Sarah Stanley, darting from room to room late at night with one of the guests, Clive (Ian Davies) with a lot more than a kiss under the mistletoe in mind.

And they accidentally set off one of the mechanical toys under the Christmas tree, bringing the rest of the household from their beds.

There's even a shooting incident and laughs galore when dodgy doctor Bernard (Brian Asbury) stages a puppet show while grumpy old Uncle Harvey chips in with his own sarcastic commentary. Tom Rowley is a hoot as the agony uncle, a former security officer who is convinced he has spotted a crook at the party.

The set, designed by Jim Warrallo, works particularly well in an enjoyable play directed by Barrie Atchison. To 05.02.

Paul Marston of Birmingham Mail/Behind the Arras website

**** (four stars)