Iwent up to the Theatre On The Hill (Olney Middle School) on the 2th June to see this production. It was a very good performance. It was well acted, well directed and had plenty of twists and rums throughout it's Journey. It was a comedy thriller and comedy is extremely difficult to get right but the director, Ross Archibald kept the pace absolutely correct. They built it up gradually and the relationships between the characters was spot on. Sometimes there is a tendency to assume that comedy should be played over the top but with these kinds of productions you don't need to. The actors play it as straight drama. That is, in fact, why British situation comedy classics are always so much funnier than American ones. The Americans are always aware that the audience is there and play to them, whereas the British don't. Sometimes, in a straight farce for instance, it is necessary to play it over the top and unrealistically fast but with a comedy thriller you don't need all that. It would be unfair to single out any of the actors in it, as they all played their parts extremely well and there was some great bickering and backbiting, and as in all good productions the characters are totally different at the end than they appear at the start. I certainly couldn't see the end twist coming and when the lights blacked out at rhe end, it made you think, which is a sure sign that they had it right. I felt that the audience really got value from this. Of course, it goes without saying that it was well written. But that doesn't always lead to a good end result. Some directors will try to be very clever and put too much business into a play whereas the skill is to keep the audience understanding exactly what is going on at all times, which this did. They seemed to have made the stage smaller with the set and as it was all set in a theatre dressing room this worked. There isn't much room in these places generally. Even people like Lawrence Olivier didn't get that much room behind a stage as most provincial theatres just don't have it. They are untidy, smelly places on the whole with actors hiding bottles of booze and goodness knows what else. Once you've been in one dressing room the glamour of the world of entertainment palls somewhat. (Although there are sometimes worse places. I vaguely recall having to change in a broom cupboard some years ago, where I witnessed the disturbing sight of John Inman clad only in his underpants trying to put his makeup on standing on a chair with a mirror under a single light bulb. (Oh the glamour.) What I loved about this set was that it really did look like all the places that I've seen. Bits and pieces about, clothes and makeup plus the usual couch where everyone imagines that a lot of naugh activity takes place but rarely does, as they're always just a bit too small. The technical business such as lighting and sound went without a hitch. Basically, unless there are really obvious special e ects, the technical team don't get any glory or mention which is terribly unfair because the lighting and sound is as important as anything else within any production. A huge amount of work goes into putting on a production such as this. You start with a script and, as I'm sure everyone will tell you who's been involved, it is an absolute nightmare getting it to the first night. However good they think it is, everyone has some doubts, and the closer it gets to the first night, the more fraught it becomes. Until you get out there and get the first reaction om a live paying audience you just never know. But I suppose that's roscenophobia ' - By The Olney Players A review by David Pibworth Marcus Jordan Co Lettings Property Management Sponso of Proscenophobia THE TEAM: Marcus Jordan B.A. Ania Czerminska Law Graduate Office administrator Property Expert Barbara Fowler Indefatigable Receptionist Property Expert Steve Peacock B.Sc. Honours Graduate Operations Director Property Expert Solicitor Managing Director Property Expert .marcusjord .co.uk 2 The Galleries - Market Place Olney - Buckinghamshire MK46 4DX Telephone: 01234 714348 PAGE 44 THE PHONEBOX