The combination of a Noel Coward play, Fallen Angels, a visit to a theatre I had never seen before (yes, it is called The Menier Chocolate Factory) and starring Janie Dee, one of my favourite actresses, persuaded me this was something not to miss. The theatre first. The seating was in an L shape, six rows with extremely tight bench seating, so quite cosy. The good thing is that the seating is very steep, so my view in the back row was fantastic. However, the legroom is close to nonexistent, which is OK for comfort because of the steepness but very difficult to get past anybody. One hundred and eighty seats, all with perfect views.
The stage is fine for this one-set comedy, and below are the stars of the show. On the right is Janie Dee (some posts on this blog), and on the left is Alexandra Gilbreath, whom I should have recognised from lots on TV. They have most of the play to themselves, especially an evening when this meal is bolstered by drink. They are a riot. The dialogue is so fast and furious; it's wonderful. In the middle of the picture is Jane (or Saunders), the maid played by Sarah Twomey. She is absolutely brilliant, although she does have some good lines, and director Christopher Lunscombe pulls out all the stops.
The three male members of the cast are less visible and all pretty dull. With a running time of over two hours, it was over in a flash. The journey home was fine, leaving the theatre at 5.15pm, and the train was waiting at Euston. I found a seat before it was standing room only, and I was home before 7pm. What a great day.
No comments:
Post a Comment