Having been
to the Richmond Theatre a few times, I went on my own. I am on their mailing and access lists and a
handy review of their autumn season suggested a few plays of interest.
It was a sunny day on the Wednesday so I headed for Richmond on the
London Overground and tapped my way to the Richmond Theatre, by Richmond
Green.
Good Grief by
Keith Waterhouse was playing starring Penelope Keith and I bought a ticket in
the front row of the stalls (neck stretchers for the sighted), an ideal spot
for listening and occasional glimpse of the actors. The front-of-house staff were very attentive,
and I was shown the accessible facilities and then taken to my seat. During the interval, the ticket desk wrote
down the names of the actors.
There are
only four speaking roles, that of June a recently widowed person coping with
bereavement. Her stepdaughter Pauline, a
man (Douglas) who bought her late husband’s checked suit from an Oxfam shop and
her husband’s colleague, Eric, who did not get the plum job at the
newspaper.
Memorial
Service music plays in the background and as the lights dim and Parry’s “I was
glad” strikes up (why?), the play starts.
June (Penelope Keith) has a one way conversation with Sam her dead
husband while continuing to have dialogue with the other 3 characters.
There are
frequent scene changes which are cued with lighting, music and appropriate
noises. The scenes are mainly in June’s
house and in the pub, where she orders pale ale. Themes such as betrayal, self deception and adjusting
to widowhood are littered with some comic scenes.
I got lost at
the end of the first act and asked my neighbour what happened. I think that was the only occasion and if you
go - it was Pauline who rang the bell and Douglas was on the stairs as the
curtain came down.
Those who
like Penelope Keith in classy Surbiton roles may be disappointed as Ms Keith
plays Northern English, the others being Home Counties. It is funny though a bit clunky at times and
I am not sure that all the monologue/dialogues were timed to perfection. My neighbour described the end of the first
half as a denouement or cliff hanger. I
am not sure but thought the meta-theatrical bit was good, at the end!
This play
could be written for radio and I followed it with only the one question, which,
by the way, was not really a cliff hanger.
It was enjoyable and may tighten up on tour. I laughed at the same time
as the rest of the audience which means the play does not rely on too many
visual cues. The music cues were varied and the scene changes appeared to be
obvious enough. A knowledge of Fleet Street and references to El Vinos should
be familiar enough to anyone with some awareness of journalism and the running
of a newspaper title.
The cast is:
Penelope
Keith – June PepperFlora Montgomery - Pauline
Jonathon Firth - Eric
Christopher Ravenscroft – The Suit
Producer Theatre Royal Bath Productions.
Director Tom Littler.The production is on tour at the following locations:
Mon, 15th October 2012 to Sat, 20th October
2012
Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
Mon, 22nd October 2012 to Sat, 27th October
2012
Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
Mon, 29th October 2012 to Sat, 3rd November
2012
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford
Mon, 5th November 2012 to Sat, 10th November
2012
Arts Theatre, Cambridge
Arts Theatre, Cambridge
Mon, 12th November 2012 to Sat, 17th November
2012
Malvern Theatres, Malvern
Malvern Theatres, Malvern
