3:39pm Friday 2nd July 2010
By Stephanie Tye
IF YOU are someone who gets easily confused you’ll be full of sympathy for Alan Bestle.
The character (played by Adrian Peace) finds himself in a muddle when his sister-in-law (who he has never met) and her husband and a pair of prospective buyers of his house arrive at the same time.
The only person who knows the difference is his wife Margaret (Sharon Bennett) and she’s had to nip out.
When I saw the show this week, the first act felt a little on the slow side but it picked up after the interval and the cast all seemed clear on their characterisations.
As always, the sets were impressive. Ray Thompson and his team did a great job recreating the inside of a country cottage.
Adrian’s orchestral conducting and Stuart Jackson’s Elvis impersonations both raised fits of giggles from the audience.
But it was Tony Manders who ended up stealing the show...and he didn’t even have to say a word.
His facial expression was enough to have the crowd laughing.
There are twists and turns galore so you have to pay attention – a couple of things I thought were mistakes turned out to be deliberate points for the plot.
My biggest criticism of the play isn’t aimed at the cast or the director, it’s at the playwright.
The whole scenairo just feels too drawn out and it could easily have been condensed into an hour. It would have been a very funny one act play. Instead Ian Masters milked the concept for all he could and, I feel, cheapened a lot of the comedy elements.
Western Players, you have some great talent in your ranks – find a play that really shows them off.
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