Show: Curtain Up!
Venue: Abbey Theatre
Credits: Peter Quilter
Type: Sardines
Author: Samantha Cartwright
Performance Date: 18/09/2021
Curtain Up!
Samantha Cartwright | 19 Sep 2021 19:56pm
Company of Ten is a well-established group who originally formed in 1934. The theatre company performs at The Abbey Theatre, St Albans.
Five women who are connected by one man inherit in equal shares a rundown theatre. They decide to try and bring the theatre back to its glory days with a variety of fundraising idea’s but before they can begin working together they need to try and move on from past experiences. One of their ideas is to host a variety show and when they convince a world class star, in this case Barbara Streisand, to take part they cannot believe their luck. However not everything runs as smoothly as they had hoped for and it becomes a mission of cover ups and mayhem.
Whilst sitting in my seat waiting for the play to begin, flicking through the programme I find out it’s a small cast of five females. The production team also consists of nearly all women, not entirely but almost. This is refreshing in the entertainment industry and I’m excited for the performance to begin.
The stage is set, effective scenery creating the foyer of a theatre needing some care and updating. One by one the characters arrive and we learn of the connections they have to each other. It’s quite a slow start, lots of long pausing and drawn-out discussions about cup-a-soups but as the plot continues the pace picks up and the personalities evolve. The changing of scenes is carried out during blackouts, its efficient and done quickly, a projection showing time moving forward is really helpful as it keeps the audience on track with the time-frame fast-forwarding.
Emma Barry – Theresa, is the glue holding the cast together, she stands out as being a very polished actress and my attention is drawn towards her every time she is onstage.
Maureen Bukht – Betty, is hilariously funny. Perfect comic timing, as is Katherine Barry – Pam, her facial expressions alone have me chuckling in my seat. The production is endearing, and has a nostalgic vibe about it, each character is the type of person we would all know and have in our lives at some point. They are clearly well bonded as a cast, as the affection and support for one another shines through into the play.
The script is well thought out and very humorous. The complexity of relationships between women is pretty fascinating and this production presents itself in such a way that is not only heart-warming but realistic. I relate to the characters and will them on with their task of fundraising and saving the theatre. An entertaining production that is thoroughly enjoyable.
- : admin
- : 18/09/2021