Description"5 Plays for the Price of One!"
Mother Figure Left on her own by her always-working husband, Lucy has just her 3 children to look after. When next-door neighbours Rosemary and Terry call in is she about to acquire 2 more? An hilarious short play that kicked off this series of 5 plays. Drinking Companion Harry, a travelling salesman, is unhappily married to Lucy (the mum in Mother Figure, the first play in the series). On one of his business trips he meets Paula, a perfume promoter, in the hotel bar. Flirtation leads to an awkward, uncomfortable communication as Harry drinks his way through the evening. Paula’s friend, Bernice, joins them and chaos ensues, with the bar waiter coming to a timely rescue. Between Mouthfuls Ordering Sole Meunière in a restaurant means there will be a bone to pick, but you don’t expect that bone will be picked with your wife! To add to your difficulties, unbeknownst to you, your presence may also be a bone of contention to your fellow diners. The urbane waiter, gliding swan-like through these troubled waters whilst, below the surface, paddling madly, tries his utmost to keep his customers satisfied. Will he succeed - or will his valiant efforts be in vain and the diners leave without leaving a tip. Gosforth's Fete Gordon Gosforth has tirelessly organised the Village Fete to the last detail. Cllr Mr Pearce has even agreed to kick off the events at 2.30pm. With community singing, an exciting PT display by the Cub Scouts, a rousing performance by the Hadforth Band and a constant supply of hot tea arranged by Millie Carter to keep everyone going, what could possibly go wrong? A Talk in the Park A bench in the park is often a place of respite, an oasis of calm, an escape from the everyday. But do you ever take a second to look at those that pass, or sit nearby? 5 people that come to the park are rudely shaken from their reveries as someone comes to invade their solace. Cast Alan Paterson- Gosforth's Fete- Gordon Gosforth Becky Valentine - Mother Figure- Rosemary Ben Sansum- Between Mouthfuls - Waiter Ceri Nicholson - A Talk in the Park- Doreen David Harnet- Drinking Companion- Waiter ,Gosforth's Fete-Stewart Ellen Burnett- Mother Figure- Lucy Lauren Cubitt- Gosforth's Fete - Millie Leeroy King- Mother Figure & Drinking Companion - Harry , Between Mouthfuls - Martin, A Talk in the Park- Ernest Lisa Goddard- Drinking Companion - Paula Peter Rose - Mother Figure- Terry Phillipa Dadd - Drinking Companion- Bernice , Between Mouthfuls & Gosforth's Fete- Mrs Pearce Pip Richards- Between Mouthfuls - Polly Nigel Bacon- Gosforth's Fete- Vicar , A Talk in the Park -Charles Rhiannon Langan - A Talk in the Park- Beryl Ritchard Tysoe -Between Mouthfuls-Pearce , A Talk in the Park- Arthur |
AuthorAlan Ayckbourn
DirectorsPaul Brown -Mother Figure
Catherine Everitt- Drinking Companion Alan Paterson- Between Mouthfuls Ritchard Tysoe - Gosforths Fete Sophie Koziol - A Talk in the Park 
|
Confusions photo gallery...
Noda Review
National Operatic & Dramatic Association London Region
Society : Lane End Players
Production : Confusions
Date : 14 October 2023 2023
Venue : : Lane End Hall
Report by : Judith Watsham
____ Show Report
Thank you for inviting me to report on your Autumn production and also for your very warm welcome and hospitality. I was very pleased to have the opportunity to talk to Ritchard Tysoe who, on this occasion, was not only one of the five directors involved but also appeared in two of the five short plays performed. Five directors!? How did you ever manage to allocate rehearsal time amicably? All these pieces can stand alone but Alan Ayckbourn obviously intended them to go together with the loose linking of characters and/or locations; I have seen two of them as part of an evening of one act plays before but never before as the author intended and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
The performance space you used on this occasion, in the ‘thrust’ i.e. on the hall floor with the audience on three sides of the actors, worked extremely well and I must congratulate SM Paul Brown and his team for the incredibly organised way in which the area was cleared and reset so that the three plays in the first half and the two in the second followed each other with hardly a hiccup when it came to each reset.
Sound and lighting, Peter Humfryes and James Lloyd for the former and Stewart Mason for the latter, all ran without a hitch – congratulations guys! The ‘explosion’ when water apparently got into the electrics in Gosforth’s Fete worked extremely well.
As a ‘props’ person myself I was very impressed by your props team (Becky Valentine, Pip Richards and Tish Marshall) and what you all achieved. All the props were excellent but those in Between Mouthfuls were particularly impressive, especially the food; it is not always easy to get this aspect right, especially if, as in your case, the audience virtually surrounds you and is up close! Food had to look of restaurant quality, match the meals ordered by the actors and, in some cases, had to be edible. The drink too had to look right, and the wine bottle presumably was real as the waiter deftly opened it with a satisfying ‘pop’.
Tish was also responsible for costumes – all of them just right for the very varied characters portrayed by your talented cast. I am amazed that Lane End can field 15 actors whose performance skills are as great as yours – not to mention the five directors of course, two of whom also appeared on stage, and one is your SM. All 15 of you were word perfect in your very varied roles and totally immersed in your assorted characterisations. All of you looked just right in each part too – hair, makeup, costume, walk, mannerisms, you name it, you all absolutely nailed it.
As usual, a very nice programme from Ritchard Tysoe and Diane Wiles with some good photos from Peter Humfryes.
The first play, Mother Figure, was directed by Paul Brown, your Stage Manager with a cast of three. Ellen Burnett as Lucy was excellent, and the character is so recognisable to any mother who, like me, at one time had three children under the age of five! She gradually reduced Rosemary (Becky Valentine) and Terry (Peter Rose) to the status of children, and both developed very good facial expressions and moves. Loved the mess of toys!
This was followed by a sequel – Drinking Companions – in the very capable hands of director Catherine Everitt. Leeroy King as Lucy’s husband Harry, hopefully trying to pick up a bed companion in a hotel bar, got progressively more and more inebriated as his evening wore on and he got more and more desperate. The two girls concerned, Lisa Goddard and Phillipa Dadd, contrasted well and, again, both added so much to their characterisations with their facial expressions. The same applies to their waiter, David Harnett – not a lot to say but his attitude and stance said it all for him.
Finally in the first half we had Between Mouthfuls with Alan Paterson at the helm. The staging here was clever as the chairs and tables were positioned in such a way (and the four actors concerned held themselves at just the right angles) so that we could easily believe that they did not spot each other. Pip Richards paired well with Leeroy King as did Phillipa Dadd with Ritchard Tysoe. The way one couple appeared to have a (silent) conversation whilst the other couple talked/rowed worked well. However, the star of this play was undoubtedly the waiter, beautifully portrayed by Ben Sansum. Ben, both your expressions and stance were just right all the time and added to much to our understanding of the unfolding events.
The second half opened with Gosforth’s Fete, and Ritchard Tysoe managed the carnage involved with this one very competently. Nigel Bacon’s Vicar was delightful, good stance, mannerisms and voice; Lauren Cubitt’s Millie – a very well observed characterisation of a type which is to be found all over the country – the helpful volunteer. The cast was completed by Phillipa Dadd as Mrs. Pearce – loved the muddy shoes – whose mishaps brought gales of laughter – excellent timing shown throughout Phillipa – and David Harnett as the teetotal Stewart, gradually driven to drink. Alan Paterson took the title role of the hapless Gosforth, and displayed impeccable timing as everything went wrong due to the character’s ineptness – a superb performance!
Finally, we saw a very different one act play – Sophie Koziol was responsible for A Talk in the Park with five characters, all displaying their varied emotions and subtly through facial expressions and movements, putting over their feelings of isolation and loneliness so well. Ceri Nicolson as Doreen and Rhiannon Langan as Beryl appeared for the first time and, again, made the characters live for the audience. For instance, the audience’s attention was on Doreen, throwing crumbs for the birds, as the down at heel Arthur entered so we caught the former’s look of disgust. The other three people involved, Nigel Bacon, Charles, Ritchard Tysoe, Arthur and Leeroy King, Ernest, had appeared earlier in the evening but all three showed their acting talents to perfection as these people were just so different from the others they had personified earlier in the evening. Dress, hair and mannerisms all added to our knowledge as each speaker delivered a word-perfect monologue.
I also want to congratulate you for the magnificent display of your NODA London Certificates, both for District Awards and Regional Awards, and for framing your photographs of the Regional Trophies you have won in the past as the original can only be held for a year. The NODA Awards are the ones I really appreciated, of course, but your display of silverware and certificates won in a local drama competition were most impressive. I really wish that all London NODA societies were as proud of their achievements as you obviously are.
Thank you again for a most enjoyable evening and I look forward to your January pantomime (OH YES, I DO).
Judith Watsham
District 11 and 11A Rep NODA London
Society : Lane End Players
Production : Confusions
Date : 14 October 2023 2023
Venue : : Lane End Hall
Report by : Judith Watsham
____ Show Report
Thank you for inviting me to report on your Autumn production and also for your very warm welcome and hospitality. I was very pleased to have the opportunity to talk to Ritchard Tysoe who, on this occasion, was not only one of the five directors involved but also appeared in two of the five short plays performed. Five directors!? How did you ever manage to allocate rehearsal time amicably? All these pieces can stand alone but Alan Ayckbourn obviously intended them to go together with the loose linking of characters and/or locations; I have seen two of them as part of an evening of one act plays before but never before as the author intended and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
The performance space you used on this occasion, in the ‘thrust’ i.e. on the hall floor with the audience on three sides of the actors, worked extremely well and I must congratulate SM Paul Brown and his team for the incredibly organised way in which the area was cleared and reset so that the three plays in the first half and the two in the second followed each other with hardly a hiccup when it came to each reset.
Sound and lighting, Peter Humfryes and James Lloyd for the former and Stewart Mason for the latter, all ran without a hitch – congratulations guys! The ‘explosion’ when water apparently got into the electrics in Gosforth’s Fete worked extremely well.
As a ‘props’ person myself I was very impressed by your props team (Becky Valentine, Pip Richards and Tish Marshall) and what you all achieved. All the props were excellent but those in Between Mouthfuls were particularly impressive, especially the food; it is not always easy to get this aspect right, especially if, as in your case, the audience virtually surrounds you and is up close! Food had to look of restaurant quality, match the meals ordered by the actors and, in some cases, had to be edible. The drink too had to look right, and the wine bottle presumably was real as the waiter deftly opened it with a satisfying ‘pop’.
Tish was also responsible for costumes – all of them just right for the very varied characters portrayed by your talented cast. I am amazed that Lane End can field 15 actors whose performance skills are as great as yours – not to mention the five directors of course, two of whom also appeared on stage, and one is your SM. All 15 of you were word perfect in your very varied roles and totally immersed in your assorted characterisations. All of you looked just right in each part too – hair, makeup, costume, walk, mannerisms, you name it, you all absolutely nailed it.
As usual, a very nice programme from Ritchard Tysoe and Diane Wiles with some good photos from Peter Humfryes.
The first play, Mother Figure, was directed by Paul Brown, your Stage Manager with a cast of three. Ellen Burnett as Lucy was excellent, and the character is so recognisable to any mother who, like me, at one time had three children under the age of five! She gradually reduced Rosemary (Becky Valentine) and Terry (Peter Rose) to the status of children, and both developed very good facial expressions and moves. Loved the mess of toys!
This was followed by a sequel – Drinking Companions – in the very capable hands of director Catherine Everitt. Leeroy King as Lucy’s husband Harry, hopefully trying to pick up a bed companion in a hotel bar, got progressively more and more inebriated as his evening wore on and he got more and more desperate. The two girls concerned, Lisa Goddard and Phillipa Dadd, contrasted well and, again, both added so much to their characterisations with their facial expressions. The same applies to their waiter, David Harnett – not a lot to say but his attitude and stance said it all for him.
Finally in the first half we had Between Mouthfuls with Alan Paterson at the helm. The staging here was clever as the chairs and tables were positioned in such a way (and the four actors concerned held themselves at just the right angles) so that we could easily believe that they did not spot each other. Pip Richards paired well with Leeroy King as did Phillipa Dadd with Ritchard Tysoe. The way one couple appeared to have a (silent) conversation whilst the other couple talked/rowed worked well. However, the star of this play was undoubtedly the waiter, beautifully portrayed by Ben Sansum. Ben, both your expressions and stance were just right all the time and added to much to our understanding of the unfolding events.
The second half opened with Gosforth’s Fete, and Ritchard Tysoe managed the carnage involved with this one very competently. Nigel Bacon’s Vicar was delightful, good stance, mannerisms and voice; Lauren Cubitt’s Millie – a very well observed characterisation of a type which is to be found all over the country – the helpful volunteer. The cast was completed by Phillipa Dadd as Mrs. Pearce – loved the muddy shoes – whose mishaps brought gales of laughter – excellent timing shown throughout Phillipa – and David Harnett as the teetotal Stewart, gradually driven to drink. Alan Paterson took the title role of the hapless Gosforth, and displayed impeccable timing as everything went wrong due to the character’s ineptness – a superb performance!
Finally, we saw a very different one act play – Sophie Koziol was responsible for A Talk in the Park with five characters, all displaying their varied emotions and subtly through facial expressions and movements, putting over their feelings of isolation and loneliness so well. Ceri Nicolson as Doreen and Rhiannon Langan as Beryl appeared for the first time and, again, made the characters live for the audience. For instance, the audience’s attention was on Doreen, throwing crumbs for the birds, as the down at heel Arthur entered so we caught the former’s look of disgust. The other three people involved, Nigel Bacon, Charles, Ritchard Tysoe, Arthur and Leeroy King, Ernest, had appeared earlier in the evening but all three showed their acting talents to perfection as these people were just so different from the others they had personified earlier in the evening. Dress, hair and mannerisms all added to our knowledge as each speaker delivered a word-perfect monologue.
I also want to congratulate you for the magnificent display of your NODA London Certificates, both for District Awards and Regional Awards, and for framing your photographs of the Regional Trophies you have won in the past as the original can only be held for a year. The NODA Awards are the ones I really appreciated, of course, but your display of silverware and certificates won in a local drama competition were most impressive. I really wish that all London NODA societies were as proud of their achievements as you obviously are.
Thank you again for a most enjoyable evening and I look forward to your January pantomime (OH YES, I DO).
Judith Watsham
District 11 and 11A Rep NODA London