For a theatre lover brought up in the Kingston area but left in the 1980's, I was pleased to hear that there was finally to be a proper theatre, although a little late for me to attend regularly. However, a free Saturday gave me the perfect opportunity to see what all the fuss (positive and negative) was about.
Similar in style to Shakespeare's Globe ( except with a roof to allow all year performances) it possesses a proscenium stage and a space in front of the stalls for cushion seating to provide a slightly more comfortable way for groundlings to watch a show.
The choice of Noel Coward's "Hay Fever" may not have been adventurous but it is popular and does provide a chance to see a classic English play. It is traditional Coward territory set in a country house ( in Surrey) in the twenties run by an ageing theatrical ( in all senses of the word) actress including her writer husband and their two lively, loud and dramatic children.
Into this melee came four unsuspecting " lambs to the slaughter" all invited down for the week-end without the knowledge of the rest of the family. Too classy to choose the farce route the playwright uses his knowledge of these people to poke gentle fun at the Bliss family but he stops short of criticising their selfish, blinkered existence. By choosing to end the play with the hysterical, silent escape of their visitors the author seems well aware this kind of behaviour can't last forever.
The matriarchal figure, Judith Bliss, is a great role for any actress. Nichola McAullife (replacing Celia Imrie called away to make a film) gleefully grabs it with both hands and enjoys grinding out every syllable in her high-pitched mannered delivery. ( A good performance even if it did remind me of Penelope Keith).
Relative newcomers Georgia Maguire and Joshua McGuire relished their roles as the uncontrollable siblings with Stephen Boxer's David seeming to be a more subdued character until he revealed in the second half that his children were just " chips off the old block" after all. In fact all the acting was high quality although Adrian Lukis stole the evening with an unhurried beautiful performance of a man clearly out of his depth but trying to remain dignified at all times.
Overall this was a fun production of a famous play although when I return I hope to see a newer more challenging piece of work.
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