January 29, 2009
Set entirely in and around a typical English cricket pavilion, this amateur production of Outside Edge witnesses a Saturday in the life of five couples. The play opens with Roger the captain (Paul Barrand) ordering his dutiful wife Miriam (Janet Rollet) around the club-house in preparation for the days match. As both the plot and the cricket match get underway it becomes apparent that for the team and their wives, marriage isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. And with one over-bearing wife, one possibly adulterous husband, a girlfriend with an extremely nervous disposition and a suave but lecherous cad, much hilarity ensues.
The play was written by Richard Harris and in 1994 it won the best situation comedy prize, awarded by the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain. This current version of the former prize-winner certainly does not disappoint! It is clear to the audience that all of the actors are committed whole-heartedly to the particular characters that they play, and the fact that the cast is having a great time performing together is not lost on the audience either.
Directed for “Breakaleg Productions” by Deidre Jones, Outside Edge takes a look at the sometimes constricting grasp of marriage and in doing so manages to portray what could be quite a depressing subject matter through what is actually a highly amusing production riddled with dry wit and moments of slapstick.
By the end of Outside Edge the audience has witnessed one marriage dissolve into what looks like a probable divorce, learnt of one wife setting fire to her husband’s brand new BMW and seen another couple find their way back to happiness together. All in all, coupled with the uniqueness of this small and charming theatre, the production proved to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
The play was written by Richard Harris and in 1994 it won the best situation comedy prize, awarded by the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain. This current version of the former prize-winner certainly does not disappoint! It is clear to the audience that all of the actors are committed whole-heartedly to the particular characters that they play, and the fact that the cast is having a great time performing together is not lost on the audience either.
Directed for “Breakaleg Productions” by Deidre Jones, Outside Edge takes a look at the sometimes constricting grasp of marriage and in doing so manages to portray what could be quite a depressing subject matter through what is actually a highly amusing production riddled with dry wit and moments of slapstick.
By the end of Outside Edge the audience has witnessed one marriage dissolve into what looks like a probable divorce, learnt of one wife setting fire to her husband’s brand new BMW and seen another couple find their way back to happiness together. All in all, coupled with the uniqueness of this small and charming theatre, the production proved to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience.