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David Porter » Entries tagged with "Open Space Theatre"

Habeas Corpus

Habeas Corpus by the Open Space Theatre Company at the Seagull Theatre Lowestoft Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 9 May 2016 Habeas Corpus – a legal term meaning ‘have the body’ – is a classic farce from the pen of master writer Alan Bennett with a dash of absurdism, clever and witty word plays and some social comment on the 1960s thrown in. Norfolk/Suffolk touring ensemble Open Space bring the formula to life and laughs as the randy, aging doctor (Peter Sowerbutts in fine world-weary, cynical form) attempts to seduce an attractive young patient (Samantha McAtear) while keeping it from his frustrated wife (Yves Green), no slouch herself in the hanky-panky stakes. There is a stage full of absurdist characters – hypochondriac son (Jake Kubala), a pompous, sex obsessed rival doctor (Simon … Read entire article »

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Separate Tables

Open Space Theatre’s Separate Tables at the Seagull Theatre, Lowestoft Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 20 November 2014 Open Space Theatre’s annual autumn tour arrived at Lowestoft’s Seagull Theatre with a fine example of stage writing, surefire acting and direction. Separate Tables is a pair of interconnected plays set in a 1950s’ south coast hotel, a rather sad place peopled by lost characters, past their prime or inadequate in some way. April Secrett and Roy Goodwin were the once-married couple facing their shared past as it cleverly unfolded. Eileen Ryan’s hotel manager showed skill and empathy, Tim Hall embodied the hapless, pretend retired major and Geoff Cadman the former schoolmaster. Yves Green was outstanding as the superior, resident matriarch with the excellent Emma Martin as her downtrodden daughter who found her own voice. Other guests … Read entire article »

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From Russia

From Russia Open Space Theatre, Fisher Theatre, Bungay Review published in the Eastern Daily Press and East Anglian Daily Times, 1 December 2012 Ever-inventive Open Space are touring comic Chekhov gems and a poignant ‘what if’ study from two tragedies. High-energy romp, The Proposal, sees man (Grant Filshill) call on father (Alan Bolton) to ask for daughter’s hand (Emma Martin). A land dispute quickly degenerates into a delicious, insult-throwing barney. The Bear is a bad-tempered stranger (Stephen Picton) calling on a widow (Cathy Gill) to collect her late husband’s debt. His raging turns to instant infatuation. The old retainer (Patrick Quorn) and the attempted pistol duel are hilarious. The Evils of Tobacco is a monologue in the form of a lecture from a hen-pecked man (Alan Bolton) which is really about his wife and his … Read entire article »

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The Blue Angel

Open Space Theatre at the Seagull Theatre, Lowestoft Review published in the Eastern Daily Press and East Anglian Daily Times, 28th November 2011 It’s always good to see a company taking on new challenges and pushing boundaries. To take Pam Gems’ stage version of what was a successful film, does Open Space credit. Set in decadent Weimar Germany the plot centres on an esteemed, but pompous, ageing professor who falls for a cabaret performer and seeks to give her respectability by marrying her. He is ostracised by his social circle and does whatever degrading or criminal things it takes to restore his good name. Emma Martin plays the brazen but vulnerable, ageless Lola, first played in the film by Marlene Dietrich. She makes an excellent, convincing job of it, as does Paul Baker, her infatuated, … Read entire article »

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Death of a Salesman

Open Space Theatre Company at Seagull Theatre, Lowestoft Review published in Eastern Daily Press and East Anglian Daily Times, 15 November 2010 Death of a Salesman As the years advance, appreciation of Arthur Miller’s masterpiece deepens. That a man at 63 is too old and tired to be effective in business is at odds with today’s 60 being the new 40, but an older person losing his grip resonates still. Paul Baker presents Willie Lomax, a once highly successful travelling salesman, staunch believer in the American Dream and hard work, liked and respected, with a well judged mix of anger, frustration, confusion, with sparks of the younger worker, husband and father. The ever-impressive Yves Green is his wife, handling memories with joy and his decline, their quarrelsome sons and the fractured father/son relationship with stoic … Read entire article »

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84 Charing Cross Road

Open Space Theatre at The Cut, Halesworth Review published in the Eastern Daily Press and East Anglian Daily Times, 8th March 2010 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD Eagerly embracing more challenge, Open Space Theatre take on a play based on a twenty year exchange of letters, between a rising American writer and the staff of a London bookshop. We see how the staff, especially the rather formal, English manager played convincingly by Alan Bolton, relate to the outgoing, louder Jewish American played superbly by Anne McClarnon, from either side of the Atlantic. National events from the late 1940s to the swinging sixties are background, as letters, like personal diaries, and thoughtful gifts are exchanged. Throughout, as friendship grows to a kind of romance – this long before internet communication – the anticipation of her coming to visit, summer … Read entire article »

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