Thank you to David Holman for this guest review.
Last evening at The Quay Theatre Sudbury, my friends and I were treated to a lesser known Coward play written later in his career, but full of his trademark wit and acerbic putdowns.
The scene is set at the resplendent home of the Countess of Marshwood House, who is anticipating the arrival of her potential daughter in law ,Hollywood starlet Miranda Frayle from America.
It is a comedy of class distinctions and cultural differences that leads to some hilarious deceptions and emotional fallout.
The play is opened by the servants of the household whose character quirks are quickly established. David Brooks as Crestwell the Butler was calm and philosophical, but did stumble over his lines a little.(Opening night nerves I imagine). Julia Harman played the housemaid with a lovely touch of innocence and fun, and played a dual role later as Lady Hayling.
The Matriarch of the house was the Countess, played with a mix of regalness and bemusement at the antics unfolding before her. Tracey Ives gave a strong performance in the central role and coped admirably with a wordy part. I was pleased to see Stuart McLellan as Hon Peter Ingleton. He always brings a certain gravitas to his delivery and had some amusing retorts to other characters.
The play was originally entitled “Moxie”, and one can see that her character was central to the unfolding plot. Elizabeth Elliott gave a lovely presentation of a woman in turmoil, and gained much laughter from her “disguise” in later scenes. I won’t give away too much. See for yourself! Rory Griffiths as Nigel, Earl of Marshwood was utterly convincing as a member of nobility, and for me had the best diction. His dismay at Moxie’s promotion and obvious snobbery made him vaguely unlikable, but a great performance for all that. Robert Halliday as Sir John Hayling was confident in a small but important supporting role.
The American contingent, and the catalyst for much controversy at Marshwood House is presented by Rebecca Hannah as Hollywood star Miranda Frayle and Seb Ranson as her lovelorn suitor and fellow actor Don Lucas. Rebecca’s entrance was a little under-stated, but nevertheless she gave a convincing performance, beginning deceptively demure,but later showing her true colours when she is revealed to be hiding a secret. Seb’s amorous suitor, and competition for Miranda’s affections was confident and moved well around the stage. One of several actors with very clear diction. Both actors displayed convincing American accents.
Pelham Eliott’s direction was good overall. He works hard on every aspect of a production and it shows in the details. However, I must admit to being bemused by one or two odd placements of actors. To wit: Moxie’s tendency to look upstage occasionally and not direct some lines to the actor on stage with them, and Peter’s odd asides to the audience, breaking the 4th wall.
The set by Stuart Deveraux was lavish and well-dressed with 3 entrances/exits, but I did notice some shuffling off-stage at times by actors impeded by the furniture.
Small trifles when compared with the entertainment that all concerned gave to a grateful audience last night. Thank you all. Another Noel Coward ticked off my bucket list.
David Holman
Relative Values by Noel Coward presented by Pelham Elliott Productions at The Quay Theatre Sudbury Suffolk runs until Saturday 16th November with a performance Friday 15th November at 7:30pm and 2 performances on Saturday 16th at 2:00pm and 7:30pm – Tickets are available online here
SUFFOLK THEATRE 