BHADS Summer Production 2010

A tomb with a View by Norman Robbins

Broad Hinton ADS, Broad Hinton Village Hall, Broad Hinton

Friday 2^nd July 2010

Directed by Alex Laroche

Andrew Carpenter (National Operatic & Dramatic Association) reports -

Once again upon my arrival I was immediately impressed with the warmth of my welcome and the true pride of all the volunteers involved with this production of A tomb with a view and indeed the Village Hall itself. BHADS really does encapsulate all that is best in village life.

The production itself was really ‘great fun’ and having never seen this piece before it was a rollercoaster of a ride as one never knew who was next to be bumped off! The play gave ample opportunity for all players to express themselves within a range of eccentric characters and this opportunity was grasped with both hands by one and all.

Mark Miller as Hamilton Penworthy was suitably aloof and unforgiving with the family Tomb (for obvious reasons and I got that one right in my deductions!). Nick Moakes as Lucien Tomb gave a splendid performance as the ‘head’ of the house and his antics I likened to Hugh Laurie (was his make-up, and that of Marcus, meant to be so pale?). I was most impressed with Sally Cartwright’s quietly sinister portrayal as Dora Tomb and the completely opposite louder and eccentric performance from Jenni Moseling as Emily Tomb. I loved the Cesar like interjections from Mike Hill as Marcus Tomb although if anything I would like to have seen a little more melodramatic ‘acting’ within this role.

Having suffered a broken wrist only days before curtain up, Marilyn Martin as Anne Franklin was very brave to continue in ‘the show must go on’ mould. The audience was well rewarded for her bravery with a splendid performance that grew in stature as the production developed and of course came to prominence near the end. Libby New as Agatha Hammond and Rose Aves as Freda Mountjoy both provided excellent cameo roles and Jerry Marshall as Perry Potter provided a very realistic performance as the insecure man who had to escape under a woman’s pseudo-name to carry out his beloved writing of romantic novels. As with Marilyn, his performance grew in stature as the play unfolded, exactly as it should have done in the writing of the piece.

Finally I must make mention of Jo McCombe, who judging from the comments around me in the audience, is an obvious favourite with Broad Hinton audiences. She obviously revelled in the role and enjoyed her flirtations with Perry. As in Peter Pan previously, one member of the cast felt it necessary to take a peek through the curtains before the production started which is a big ‘no no’ in theatre of course. All in all the cast gelled together very well and provided excellent interactions with the different and various relationships apparent to us all in the audience.

The set was most impressive and in particular the way you had managed to include a secret passageway in one of the bookcases on such a small stage. I would have liked to have seen a ‘lit’ fire however as the warming of hands by Lucien didn’t really look effective as things stood. The costumes were suitably contrasting and eccentric for this piece and did not ‘place’ the play in any one time which I believe was exactly what the director intended. Sound was perfect as I never missed one word of dialogue and lighting also meant each part of every scene was always clear.

I thought the director did marvels in getting so many people on stage at any given time, along with so many other items like chairs, without ever making the stage look cluttered. The subtle way in which the characters moved around the stage always made the piece look interesting and prevented possible over crowding. My only slight critism was the constant ‘pacing’ of Freda Mountjoy in one scene whereby she looked like a caged lion. Alex Laroche and BHADS must be applauded for providing Broad Hinton and the surrounding villages with such a splendid evening’s entertainment and I congratulate all concerned for their dedication and talent. What a shame there wasn’t a full house on the night I came because the production deserved one.