” . . . Merrick, as sympathetically played by Daniel Chrisostomou, is naked. His deformities are outlined with a wire frame which not only describes his grotesque shape but also acts as a cage in which he is trapped. The loose folds of repulsive skin which were also part of his disfigurement are represented by swathes of chainmail draped from the wire. The effect is brilliant and works perfectly.”
Read More“Tony Robinson was very watchable and entertaining but was not given his head and allowed to run with the performance in a way in which I am sure he would have been capable. David Collings, as the cutely named Diafoirehoea, was also good in a restrained way but it was only Imogen Stubbs as the pushy, money-grabbing wife Beline, who showed what could have been done. Her performance had elements of farce which were sadly missing from the rest of the production.”
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“. . .the confined space within the darkened Studio Theatre lent the proceedings a perfect intimacy in which to witness the two ‘losers’ in this piece. . . an extraordinary and unlikely double-act not unlike Laurel and Hardy which I strongly recommend you savour. . . I loved [Mark] Hyde’s Morganhall. He looked and sounded perfect for the role, both in his outbursts of self-deluded oratory and in his crumpled admissions of shortcomings. . . Michael Hasted has injected this 1950s revival with great pace and movement on a small rostrum stage. Definitely worth a ringside seat . . .”
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“. . . Guernsey in WWII – Lotty’s boisterous chasing game with her childhood friend Ben is rudely interrupted by the Battle of Britain raging above Lotty’s modest cottage. From then on the mood turns somber with the arrival of the German occupiers, in her case a German General who commandeers her house, forcing her into the role of housekeeper. . . All in all, a striking and tense play depicting the dangers for any young woman who had the misfortune of falling in love with the occupying enemy. “
Read More“. . . From the moment the characters enter, the self-obsessed, dissolute Tony Lumpkin and his mother, the broad Mrs Hardcastle with a orange candy floss wig wobbling across the stage, both in voluminous leopard and tiger print costumes, we know that mayhem will be served up. . . Director Conrad Nelson has created a good deal of hilarity with the portrayal of the hapless servants versus the snobbish Londoners . . . an evening of absurd fun.”
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