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PREVIEW
Surrey Mirror - The Guide
Am Dram
SPIRITED: Actors from Reigate Amateur
Theatrical Society rehearse their lines for the forthcoming production of
Blithe Spirit. The classic comedy by Noel Coward opens at The
Harlequin, Redhill, on Thursday, November 2.
Jo Silcox, far left, plays Madame Acarti
alongside Julie Madigan as Ruth Condomine and Chris Hepher as Charles
Condomine.
The Play comes as the cast and crew
celebrate the society's 30th anniversary.
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REVIEW
Surrey Mirror - The Guide 16th
November
Reigate Amateur Theatrical Society
(RATS), The Harlequin Theatre, Redhill.
Reviewd by Philipa Rushby
Noel Coward's famous ghost story
tells of Charles Condomine, a well-known author who needs to research the
world of psychics for his latest book.
Hoping for some dramatic ghostly activity, he invites local eccentric
medium, Madame Arcati, to join him and his second wife Ruth for dinner.
However, what he doesn't bank on is his evening being somewhat spoilt by the
appearance of his late first wife, Elvira (who only he is able to see or
hear), during the séance held after dinner.
Chris Hepher, playing Charles, tried to convey a variety of emotions from
bewilderment to rage to acceptance, while Julie Madigan gave a confident
performance as Ruth and grew in strength through the action. Her jealousy of
Elvira was well portrayed.
The staging was at times static with some characters seeming to be only
allocated a small area to explore and the pace was generally slow.
Some fuel was injected into the proceedings, however, with the arrival of
Madame Arcati (Jo Silcox) who was suitably dotty and gave a variety of vocal
tone that we had been lacking. Her 'warming up' routine prior to the séance
was, though, somewhat overplayed.
The opening of act two, between Madame Arcati and Ruth, provided the most
polished moments of the evening.
Two other guests at dinner were Doctor Bradman and his wife, played by Andy
Bellinger and Sheena Hobbs.
The role of Elvira, portrayed by a well-costumed Anne-Marie Carlile,
demanded good movement to give a ghostly quality and this was by and large
achieved. Unfortunately, though, her constant swirling about the stage
rather upstaged other characters - subtle arm and head movement whilst
remaining stationary would have been more effective.
All amateur drama groups relish the opportunity to perform in a professional
theatre and to take full advantage of all the facilities that this provides.
RATS certainly made full use of the breadth of stage with an exceptionally
well-designed and dressed set with just the right level of art deco touches
(particular credit should be given to Sam Perrin for three wonderful
paintings).
It was a shame though that they didn't use the entire space - generally
keeping themselves to the fireside area and ignoring the dining table by the
French windows except for one scene. This resulted in a feeling of the cast
being swamped by their set and any intimacy was lost.
However, the closing moments with the supernatural influences upon the room
were cleverly organised and gave a rightfully ghostly feel to the end of the
evening.
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MEMBER REVIEW
Reviewed by Oli Cownden
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