Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 19 December 2011   Charles Dickens’ iconic tale of redemption from darkness, A Christmas Carol, is a seasonal but timeless favourite, and The Maddermarket is true to the spirit of the original classic. Besides the well-known ghosts, the Cratchitt family, the nephew and, of course, the great British curmudgeon Ebenezer Scrooge (Noel James), the play has many minor parts, some doubled up well by the large company. The use of some of these characters as a Greek-style chorus to convey the narrative, comment and directly address the audience effectively sheds new light on the familiar. Movement is restricted on the stage, but even so, the sombre, death-like atmosphere of those Victorian days was captured, including the chill grimness of the counting house. The tragedy of the impoverished … Read entire article »

Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 18 September 2010 Snake in the Grass Alan Ayckbourn writes brilliant comedy with a dark side, an under belly of thoughtful, uncomfortable truth that makes for a fascinating evening, as if we are being mesmerised by a literal snake. Director Judi Daykin takes hold of this less well-known four-hander and produces rivetting drama. Rhett Davies’ set, cunningly built into the small stage, is a delight, a deceptively peaceful, ramshackle old English garden, hiding all sorts of menace. Two sisters are reunited after the death of their father. The apparently capable older one is played with perfectly balanced strength and vulnerability by Dawn Brindle. Her sibling, a masterful Etta Geras, is not quite as broken and crazy as she first appears. Alexandra Berridge is the nurse/companion to … Read entire article »

Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich The Price Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 24 July 2010 Life is full of choices that come with a price. This is the thread of Arthur Miller’s rarely performed study of two brothers attempting to settle the chattels of their late father’s life and their own troubled relationship. *A gifted writer but controversial man, with his outward humanitarian enthusiasm, his three marriages, including to Marilyn Monroe and his institutionalising/neglecting his Down’s syndrome son till just before he died,* Miller wrote this play as a powerful and emotional journey through how people react, what they know and how they deal with others. The brothers – one, almost-retired cop, short of cash and indecisive (handled sensitively by Richard Mann); second, older, successful yet flawed, (a masterful interpretation by the always worth watching, … Read entire article »

Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 25 June 2005 Vincent in Brixton Would Vincent van Gogh be remembered today if he had become a preacher? We’ll never know. His destiny was to paint and his life led that way. It’s that early life in the form of a portrait of an artist as a young man that is the burden of this play. It is a fresh perspective, though it divided the critics from breathless admiration to ‘an impersonation of writing’. Director Rhett Davies takes the five-strong cast through the twists of fortune as young Vincent works for an art dealer in London and lodges in Brixton. Falling first for the daughter – elegantly played by Millie Woolsey-Brown, despite her ties to a fellow lodger amusingly played by Owen Bevan – he discovers … Read entire article »

Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 19 August 2005 And Then There Were None Lovers of art-deco crime, of the English island view of the world of twists and turns in plot, of actors who go beyond stereotypical characters and fans of the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, should set course for the Maddermarket. And Then There Were None is based on a verse, Ten Little Soldiers,the plot ingeniously sees a mystery host bring ten unconnected people to an island to accuse them of a variety of murders. Subsequently they are bumped off in increasingly gruesome acts of vengeance. Undercurrents of loathing, class conflict and a sense of period are directed superbly by Peter Sowerbutts around a clever and workable set. Stylistically it is difficult to portray characters who face certain but … Read entire article »

Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich Review Published in the Eastern Daily Press, 15 February 2008 Funny Money One of the many strengths of the Maddermarket is the variety of its plays. Ray Cooney’s madcap romp is a highlight of the season. If farce is the comedy of extraordinary things that happen to ordinary people, this is a masterclass in the genre. We have a full measure of almost believable characters caught in an increasingly ludicrous web of implausible white lies, inventions, distractions and downright absurdities. Trevor Burton is a wonderfully slightly mad man who finds £735,000 in a suitcase and tries to hang on to it. His wife (Dawn Brindle) drinks herself into a stupor to cope while their friends (Angela Goymer and Matthew Pinkerton) are in turn helpful and otherwise as they cover up the deceits. In the … Read entire article »