This is the first show we have reviewed of Hammerpuzzle Theatre Company although we have often seen some of its talented members in various shows in the Bristol and Bath area.
Nineteenth century novels provide rich pickings for a writer or company who want to adapt a story for the stage. Thomas Hardy, though, seems not to figure very highly on the list of prospective stage adaptees – film yes, stage rarely. So it was good to see one of his lesser known stories in this very skillful adaptation. So lesser known in fact, The Woodlanders is a story with which I must confess to be totally unfamiliar. Despite this, there were few surprises in store as a well-trodden moral path was explored.
As one could predict, The Woodlanders is an everyday story of country folk, rather like The Archers before it thought it was Eastenders. Things are very quiet in the Wessex hamlet of Little Hintock until the return of Grace, a daughter of the village, who had been sent away by her father to gain an education and loose her rough country ways. Giles, her childhood sweetheart, is inevitably cast aside in favour of a better class of person and she pledges her troth to the handsome new doctor on the block. Unfortunately, he can’t keep his stethoscope in his pocket and his bedside manner transcends normal practise aiming to satisfy his female patients in more than the medical sense. They split up and Grace returns to the rough and ready Giles, but things are not as simple as that. Oh no.
This was a coherent and honest adaptation which the cast of six, brought to life in a very entertaining way. There was onstage music from a piano and occasional accordion plus a few songs. I liked the way the story was moved along with the actors taking on the role of single line narrators. The cast was generally excellent and it would be unfair to pick out any one of them for special mention. However, for two of them, it was their debut on the professional stage after leaving drama school – Alex York as the randy doctor and Maisie Young as the ill-fated Grace both showed a great deal of promise. Very engaging, I enjoyed it. ★★★★☆ Michael Hasted 29th September 2016
