By Gordon Steel.
Director: Maureen George.
Another peaceful Christmas in the home of Frank and Jean. But peaceful it certainly is not. Frank hates Christmas and he lets us know it.
One thing Sutton Arts always does superbly is set design. The main set was the living room but there was a very clever cutaway wall showing us the kitchen, so we were able to see action in both rooms at the same time. The living room was beautifully done and absolutely believable with its Christmas decorations, snow globes and Christmas tree. The décor was very appropriate.
Frank, played beautifully by Andy Jones, constantly broke the 4th wall to keep the audience informed of his views. This worked really well. Frank was wonderfully grumpy. His wife Jean, played by Joanne James, was excellent. She was very naturalistic, very believable, and they worked well together. I loved the contrast between them. She was excited for the festive season and he was very ‘bah humbug’.
The audience loved the running gag with the Frosty the Snowman figure. It constantly started playing at the most inopportune moments and, no matter how hard he tried, Frank couldn’t turn it off, but Jean could control it with ease.
If Frank was slightly Victor Meldrew, Doreen, Jean’s sister, was very Hyacinth Bucket. She was played to perfection by Lynette Coffey. Doreen was quite convinced she was a cut above everyone else. She constantly made little digs about Jean’s ‘small’ house and her artificial tree, and talked about her new villa in Spain. Coffey played the slide into drunkenness perfectly and I loved it when she slid off the arm of the settee.
Doreen’s husband, Harry, played by Phil Shaw, is a self-employed businessman. He calls himself ‘Tiger’ and has ‘Sex Bomb’ as his ring tone. He’s all hands and thinks he’s something special. Despite their façade, we soon find things aren’t all they seem for the pair, and I rather enjoyed Doreen’s comeuppance when Harry gave her a few home truths later in the play.
Doreen and Harry’s daughter, Alex (Sophia Firkins) was played beautifully as a very over the top, ‘modern vegan’ – which means she eats meat! She’s got a very whiny tone to her voice and a vacant air about her. Frank’s glee when she says she can’t stay is palpable.
The neighbours, Gary (Dan Holyhead) and Julie (Bexs Perry) are an absolute delight. Gary knows everything there is to know about Queen and he has a song for every occasion, which he belts out at the worst possible moments. He’s very coarse but just wants everyone to have fun with his new karaoke machine. Julie’s had new boobs for Christmas and wants everyone to admire them. She and Gary go upstairs at one point where the Christmas spirit gets the better of them and they get on with trying to start a family, with sound effects to match! The looks of horror on the faces of those downstairs were wonderful.
There’s a thread of sadness throughout for Jean, whose daughter Milly walked out some time previously. Little does she know Frank has been in touch and smoothed things over somewhat. Millie turns up with a boyfriend and a little secret. Milly is played to perfection by Tilde Porter and, at this point, the raucous comedy drops and we get a nice little family reunion. Milly’s boyfriend, Darren is gloriously awkward and this is portrayed very ably by Daniel Charlton.
Costumes were great. Music was, as always with Sutton Arts, perfect, and sound and lighting couldn’t have been better. Direction was spot on. This was Maureen George’s directing debut at Sutton Arts, although she’s directed elsewhere many times. She did a wonderful job and I’m sure this won’t be the last we’ll see of her.
The whole play was very funny from the start. It descended into farce in the middle and became quite moving toward the end. It was very well done throughout and I enjoyed it immensely.
Thank you, Sutton Arts. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to have a Greek salad with some of that lovely fetish cheese.
Reviewed by – Lesley L.
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