Friday, January 27, 2017

Quarter Review 4 4/8



006 Contemporary Drama – Old

Nick Warburton also back in the game with a play with all his hallmarks on it, Our Late Supper from 2007.  I did really start to become involved with the characters, all down to the imposing performance of Marcia Warren.  A very fussy, rather lonely woman, she has a northern builder (the versatile Gerard McDermott) build her a patio.  He brings his lonely, dreamy daughter Charlie (Holly Granger) with him, and at first she irritates “Miss,” but then Miss enjoys talking with her.  They have a falling out when it turns out Miss has been lying quite a bit about her past, but eventually she comes clean.  Summarized, it doesn’t sound like much, but the transformation from sour-faced cow to charming, warm-hearted woman was beautifully done.  It was directed by the late Claire Grove.

I never much liked the song Baby, It’s Cold Outside, but I did enjoy this play from 1995.  Max (Kenneth Cranham) is a ruthless businessman who typifies the 1980s—indeed, the parallels with Scrooged seemed very clear—and crushes anyone who doesn’t live up to his standards.  When he seduces a much younger woman (Julia Ford) at a celebratory party in the dead of winter, he gets much more than he bargained for.  Told out of chronological sequence, it had a real sense of atmosphere—you could almost feel the temperature dropping.  I had never heard a young(er) Kenneth Cranham before, so it was a nice treat.  It was written by Eric Pringle and directed by Cherry Cookson.  It also starred Neville Jason, Malcolm Ward, Elaine Claxton, and Vivian Rochester. 

No comments:

Post a Comment