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Alan
Bennett; Directed by Paul Philpott)
Review
Habeas Corpus by Alan
Bennett
Performed by Combined Actors of
Cambridge
ADC Theatre. Directed by Paul Philpott.
Inevitably,
in a play written in 1973 about the 60s, ‘Habeas
Corpus’ has aged in places. Jokes about Mr Heath and repeated
references to the Permissive Society root the play in its decade and
give some of the lines a distinctly quaint air; the fate, doubtless,
of any intentionally contemporary piece. But so much of the play is
ageless, so well drawn are the characters, so universal the
storyline, so beautifully crafted are the phrases that it is more
than a match for time.
Who else but Bennett could share with us, for example, how the Taj
Mahal feels.
In
this production of ‘Habeas
Corpus’, Combined Actors, under the experienced direction of
Paul Philpott, delivered
a strong and richly enjoyable romp through this accessible farce,
presenting the humour in an assured, sustained, neatly-paced manner
to the delight of their audience. Several very strong individual
performances did not overbalance the necessary and very successful
ensemble playing – the whole being subsequently more than the sum of
its parts. Congratulations to all, therefore, on this fine
achievement.
Leading the acting honours were
Rosemary Eason as Mrs.
Swabb (played in the original production by Bennett himself),
hitting exactly the right note of affectionate social distance from
the main protagonists but also setting and, where necessary, lifting
the dramatic pace; and
Anthony Sully as Dr Arthur Wicksteed, who not only looked the
part but whose articulacy, projection and timing gave his character
force in order to sustain this central role.
No
lesser contributions, though, from
Peter Simmons as Canon
Throbbing, Sally Marsh as
Muriel Wicksteed and
Geraldine Hindley as Connie Wicksteed; all three gave full,
richly comic life to their characters and merited the audience’s
very warm approval. Matthew
Peacock, as Dennis Wicksteed, and
Hannah Smith, as Felicity
Rumpers, are given the tougher subplot by Bennett but very much to
their joint credit, they made both it and their characters count
strongly. Gill Read as
Lady Rumpers, John Levantis
as Sir Percy Shorter, Sean
Baker as Denzil Shanks and
Simon Hirst as Mr. Purdue
were all thoroughly compelling and complete the highly accomplished
cast. I could have wished for a touch more volume and flexibility
from Sir Percy, and, occasionally, when the stage was full, fewer
‘straight lines’, but these were universally very high acting
standards.
The
set, as proposed by Bennett, was bereft of any furniture other than
three chairs (I wasn’t wholly convinced by their period authenticity
though) and a neat backdrop of the Hove seafront. For me the
solitary inverted lampshade (masking the ‘hanging rope’ from view)
was an unfortunate distraction. It drew attention to itself by being
just that, solitary. The lighting, under
Ed Hopkins’ control, the sound, under
Graham Potter’s control, and the stage management, under
Sheila Pierre’s control
and with the assistance of
The Penguin Club, were flawless and up to their comprehensive
best. The ‘hanging’ was splendidly conceived; a demonstration of
great technical competence. Costumes and props added greatly to the
period feel too.
Our appreciation in full measure therefore to
Paul Philpott and to
Combined Actors. They set, and with this production, continue to
maintain, very high standards indeed.
Reviewed by David Walters |
