Silchester Players

SILCHESTER PLAYERS: 'BABES IN THE WOOD', at Silchester Village Hall, on Friday, January 26, Saturday, January 27, Friday, February 2, and Saturday, February 3

SILCHESTER was ablaze with limelight last weekend as Babes in the Wood opened at the Village Hall. As with all good pantomimes there were the traditional themes of boy meets girl, man dressed as woman, and women dressed as men, adults dressed as children and plenty of thigh slapping. This production opened with “Come follow the band” sung with great enthusiasm, imaginative choreography and bright costumes, instantly creating a cheerful atmosphere.

The story: the Sheriff of Nottingham’s nephew and niece are the babes concerned. The greedy Sheriff plans to do away with them and steal their inheritance but he needs a wife… and he fancies Maid Marion.. but she fancies Robin Hood and so the story unfolds. Alan Moorhouse was terrific as the Sheriff, the baddie but the audience loved him! His sidekicks – Nickle and Dime were a well matched pair, Jill Hutchins and Janice Garrard, the latter giving a very fresh performance with her expressive face and energetic body movements. The babes (Robert Nicholson and Laura Whiteway) have a man eating nanny Nurse Nightingale; a brilliant performance from Caroline Martin who immediately clicked with the audience and clearly relished her role. Ellie Cullen was dashing as Robin Hood and then there were the Merry Men, a cheery bunch of misfits occasionally fluffing their lines and inviting the audience to laugh rather than cover them up. Special mention should be made to the children who performed as school children, toys and forest creatures. I enjoyed the topical and local references and particularly warmed to John Coffin’s Sunny Spells fairy.

Produced by Sarah Oliver and directed by Keith Graham, this was one of the best rehearsed and directed amateur shows I have ever seen.

SILCHESTER PLAYERS: 'THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE', at Silchester Village Hall, on Friday, May 11, Saturday, May 12, Friday, May 18, and Saturday, May 19

Silchester Players chose a spine-chilling theme for their latest production. The Haunting of Hill House, dramatised by F Andrew Leslie from a novel by Shirley Jackson, is an eerie tale about a deserted country house where supernatural forces exert strange powers over those who spend time there.

When Dr Montague, an expert in paranormal phenomena, brings together the psychically receptive Theodora, the young heir to the estate, Luke Sanderson, and Eleanor Vance, a young woman with a haunted childhood and more skeletons than clothes in the cupboard, it soon becomes clear that they will have a weekend to remember.

Director Brian Gillett's cast members were well-rehearsed and seemed very comfortable in their roles.

There were a few first-night wobbly lines here and there, and one or two awkward pauses early on, but on the whole everyone coped admirably with the tough and intense script and rapidly drew the audience into the cold atmosphere of Hill House.

Sarah Oliver gave a very strong performance as the permanently haunted Eleanor, her facial expressions perfectly capturing the character's torment.

Caroline Martin's playful portrayal of Theodora and Tony Oliver's cheery Luke contrasted nicely with Kevin Belcher's ponderously solemn doctor. Meanwhile Janice Garrard added a slightly sinister edge to the role of the housekeeper, Mrs Dudley.

The second act brought a new dimension to the cast with the arrival of Dr Montague's wife, an overbearing medium (well played by Donna Rushman), and her curious gung-ho side-kick Arthur Parker (Roy Glancey).

The star of the show was undoubtedly the impressively solid split-level set, designed with meticulous care by Kevin Belcher and carefully lit by Mark Larby. The players put everything into the detail of the production with strong backstage work and good special effects, and this really enhanced the performance.

This was an unusual and entertaining play, and Brian Gillett should be very pleased with the end result. Even if the detail of the plot and characterisation seemed a little sketchy at times (a problem with the script rather than the performance), the audience were very well entertained - and received one or two memorable shocks. Well worth seeing this weekend.

It’s not often you’re invited to spend some time in a haunted house, but that’s what the Silchester Players did last weekend with their Spring production “The Haunting of Hill House”.

This was a suspense drama, set in “Hill House” an isolated, decaying mansion somewhere in the country. Dr Montague invited various people – who have come into contact with the supernatural sometime in their lives – so that he could study their response to the paranormal.

The action took place in two rooms of the mansion, the windowless parlour and a bedroom. Kevin Belcher’s set design cleverly used the small stage to great effect.

In act one we were introduced to the characters: the weak Eleanor (Sarah Oliver) who capably conveyed a sense of terror throughout. She was joined by lively Theodora played by Caroline Martin. This was an energetic and confident performance and a good contrast to the nervy Eleanor. Luke (Tony Oliver) was heir to the crumbling pile and seemed to take the abnormal disturbances in his stride. Kevin Belcher was particularly strong as Dr Montague who observed with interest the effect of the house on its guests. Completing the cast was Donna Rushman as the doctor’s rather brusque wife and Arthur Parker her pompous headmaster companion. I particularly enjoyed Janice Garrard’s Mrs Dudley, the rather intimidating housekeeper. In act two the suspense builds and although we don’t see it, disaster strikes and one of the guests dies.

Although the acting was occasionally uneven and there were one or two prompts causing the pace to flag from time to time, the claustrophobic atmosphere was successfully achieved. Under the expert direction of Brian Gillett, there were seven actors listed in the programme but with Hill House itself so central to the action I wonder whether there should have been eight?

The action centres around Hill House, an isolated mansion deep in the country. Built by an eccentric seventy years before, it has a malevolent reputation. No-one has been able to live there for any length of time. Dr Montague (played by Kevin Belcher) has leased the house for the summer to scientifically prove the existence of the supernatural and has invited three guests to help him – Luke Sanderson (Tony Oliver) who will inherit the place, Theodora (Caroline Martin) and Eleanor Vance (Sarah Oliver.) Both women have experiences of the paranormal. Eleanor is introverted and nervous who has nursed her mother for eleven years until her death three months previously. In contrast Theodora is outgoing and refuses to be influenced by the brooding atmosphere of the house itself.

Almost at once the four inhabitants experience supernatural events –furious knocking on their bedroom doors late at night and spectral messages scrawled in chalk on the walls. The arrival of Dr Montague’s wife (Donna Rushman) and Arthur Parker (Roy Glancy) causes further disruption. Mrs Montague puts her faith in ouija boards and spirits and scorns her husband’s scientific approach.

It is Eleanor who becomes strongly influenced by the houses’ malign influence; we learn of her unhappy life and she begins to become possessed by the house. At first she is frightened but then begins to welcome the attention. Dr Montague fearing for her sanity persuades her to leave, but will the house let her go?

Directed and produced by Brian Gillett, this play is an ambitious undertaking. It is a subtle blend of the supernatural and the psychological breakdown of Eleanor Vance. Sarah Oliver ably portrays the repressed young girl gradually losing her grip on reality whilst Caroline Martin is perfectly cast as the brittle Theodora. Kevin Belcher as Dr Montague is believable as he realises there is nothing scientific about the strange occurrences. Also worthy of praise is Donna Rushman whose faith in the spirits causes her to disparage her husband’s efforts at every opportunity. Janice Garrard as the spooky housekeeper is also worthy of mention.

A most enjoyable evening!