Reviews by Luke Coldham
The Sociable Plover
This can only be described as a masterpeice of theatrical brilliance called “The Sociable Plover”, and what a piece of theatre it was. A simple cast of two men who put every single other amatuer actor out there in their place, as they gave us a performance worthy of a West End stage.
I have never seen such precision, dedication and commitment into an amateur play in all my years of association with amateur dramatics. As I say, when I leave a theatre with no comments or opinions about a show, it just simply hasnt worked for me – whereas I could not stop raving about it as I came out afterwards.
The play itself was set in what appeared to be a wooden hide hut for bird watchers. The stage became a totally 3 dimensional environment, and the sets were superbly crafted down to the last detail – from the water reeds blowing in the wind down to the cob webs in the corners of the hut. as well as this, I give a standing ovation alone just for the effects!
The play begins with morning breaking out and a complete silence as the first actor enters “Roy” from the marshs and gives us a delightful first 15 minutes of acting – tidying the hut, comically changing his clothes as he places them meticuously on the doors and shelves, opens 3 individual windows allowing 3 individual light fade ins, which for me was superbly placed, timed and thought out. the plot unravels with the bipolar entrance of “Dave”. we are led to belive that Dave is a criminal on the run from the police hiding out and Roy is the victim by act 1.
However by act 2 we are all kicked in the teeth as it is Roy who is the criminal and Dave who is the victim. Two fabulous performances which i commend highly.
I dont often say this about theatre of any standard, but it was an absolute privilege to watch. Thank you for a night of professionalism and entertainment. The Heath Players with “The Sociable Plover” by Tim Whitnall.
