The Barn Theatre,
25 Bluehouse Lane, Oxted, Surrey
RH8 0AA.
Tel: 01959 561811
Email: barntheatre
@btinternet.com

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24th February - 1st March

Andrea Oxlade (Host for the SCDF) introduced us to our Adjudicator for the week, Chris Jaeger, MBE, who was making his first appearance at the Barn as Festival Adjudicator.

The plays in this year's festival were all of an extremely high standard. They benefitted from excellent feedback from the Adjudicator who also took time to informally chat with Directors and actors both before and after the shows which was greatly appreciated.

And so to the first of the plays...:

Monday 24th February

“Quake” by Anthony Booth performed by Peaslake Players

Our Festival was opened with a lively performance of this imaginative piece. Five women have been caught in an earthquake in a South American desert and they take refuge in a decrepit, abandoned shed, hoping for a rescue that never comes. The shed was artfully portrayed in a set that drew a round of applause as the curtain opened. The dialogue was fast and snappy throughout and the five actors delivered their lines with great energy and cue biting. At the start, Ellen (played with just the right amount of middle class reserve by Jude Pitcher) sees herself as the natural leader of the group, though later reflects that she is not so much top dog as “top bitch”. Clever direction often put her apart on one side of the stage and the other four in a companiable group on the other. As the days pass without rescue, standards of dress and behaviour progressively disintegrate for the other four but Ellen remains prim and proper. All have their own stories to tell. Marcia (played with a good mixture of anger and pathos by Sarah Knott) maintained a high level of emotion, while Pearl (Katie Kinnes) slipped convincingly into her self-appointed role as cook and domestic organiser, sustaining jollity whenever others flagged. There was good technical support for this play: a second earth tremor saw the whole set convincingly shaking; the atmospheric music enabled scene changes to work smoothly. All in all, this was a story well told that held the audience’s attention until the end.

“Anger Management” by Robert Scott performed by Betchworth Operatic and Dramatic Society

This well-known piece, set in an anger management class where the participants are invited to act out (literally!) the events that caused their anger, gives great opportunities for comic action, opportunities that were enthusiastically grabbed by the cast, so that the audience were entertained throughout. The curtain opened on six angry participants involved in some convincing physical scrapping, appropriately lit in red. They reluctantly calm down only when Dr Clarke, the class leader, enters and restores order. He invites each of them to use the medium of drama to show what has led to their anger. The first participant is a school teacher and a clever shuffling of chairs produces a class of school children (the other participants) in an instant, all now in school uniform. The teacher conducts a maths class but his examples of maths problems are thinly disguised frustrations with his wife, who is divorcing him. In a marriage of five years, he asks, calculate how many days are wasted! His increasing anger shades to hysteria and this was played with good comic timing. Other scenarios saw a lady who had broken her glasses chatting to mannequins, thinking she was in a queue for the optician’s and a car driver pushed beyond the limit by a mobile phone failing to obey instructions. Perhaps the most heart rending scene was Knifton (played with great emotional authenticity by Dee Coutts) at her school reunion, when no one remembered her existence, let alone her name. “Did I mean anything?”, she asks plaintively.

Tuesday 25th February

“Commencing” by Jane Shepard performed by Westerham Amateur Dramatic Society

This play explores straight and lesbian culture in the 1980s and though originally produced in America, it was effectively translated under Ghislaine Bowden’s assured direction.

The play opened with Kelli, portrayed by Rachel Dresner, dancing to ‘80’s music as she prepared for what seemed like a typical blind date. Ashton Taylor Smith’s detailed set design immediately immersed the audience in the era, with touches like a vibrant pink feather boa adding flair. Kelli’s initial bravado, enhanced by her flashy lilac ruched dress and sparkly sandals, contrasted with moments of subtle discomfort, revealing a layer of vulnerability beneath her bold exterior.

Dresner’s performance as Kelli was lively and convincing, transitioning smoothly from bravado to drunken uncertainty and finally to tenderness and playfulness. Her comedic timing and diction were excellent, bringing depth to the role.

Gillian Tunna as Arlin entered wearing a large winter coat and carrying flowers, initially creating uncertainty about her role. Her reserved nature in the face of Kelli’s dismissiveness was skilfully portrayed and as Arlin was revealed as Kelli’s blind date, Tunna’s subtle performance skilfully conveyed Arlin’s feminist convictions without being overly forceful. Her reserved nature contrasted with Kelli’s outspoken demeanour, providing an effective counterbalance. Although the costume choice felt exaggerated, it successfully complemented Arlin’s character.

Both actresses shone in the climactic argument, which ended with a broken glass and a shard hitting Arlin’s face, leading to her outburst: "Don’t touch my face." followed by the revelation of her HIV-positive status. This created a deeply emotional turning point and the subsequent tender gesture, where Kelli placed a plaster on Arlin’s cheek, flowed naturally into a light-hearted dance to Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s, Relax, closing the play on a poignant yet playful note.
Jill Perry Award for Best Adult Actress – Rachel Dresner (Kelli)

“Ted” by Ian Tucker-Bell performed by Oast Theatre

The play opened with a reflective monologue by Paul, portrayed by Ian Tucker-Bell, who also penned the piece. Paul informed the audience that Ted had changed his life, while the titular Ted, played by Bob Brown, quietly sat on the sofa doing a crossword.

The story unfolded as Paul’s misdelivered Amazon parcels kept arriving at Ted’s door. While this initially irritated Paul, the two neighbours soon connected over tea. During their conversation, Paul noticed Ted’s guitar, which led to a discussion about music. It was eventually revealed that Ted had been Paul’s music teacher during his school days, but it seemed improbable that someone so deeply influenced by Ted would not recognise him straight away, despite the passage of time.

Ted’s monologue revealed his deep loneliness after leaving teaching, and Bob Brown’s portrayal brought a quiet sincerity to the character creating a compelling contrast to Paul’s more expressive nature, highlighting the differences between the two men, while making their eventual bond feel authentic. They particularly bonded over a song Paul had written but lacked belief in. Ted’s guidance helped Paul gain confidence, and they deepened their friendship through the shared language of music.

The subject of Paul’s song, Henry, was revealed to be his deceased son. In a touching, naturalistic speech, Paul shared his grief and heartbreak, explaining how his black wife had been so cruelly treated by his racist parents that she left the country after their son died and that they had even dared suggest that the son’s death was a blessing. This gave the audience a fuller understanding of his sadness.

Ted continued to help Paul improve his song, and they performed it together in harmony. While the final rendition of the song had a sweet simplicity, the length and lack of musical development left it feeling slightly drawn out for me.

Ian Tucker-Bell should be commended for both writing and performing in this touching play, as well as (presumably) composing the music.

Wednesday 26th February

“The Bear” (from the "Sneeze") by Anton Chekov performed by The Nomads

For an amateur group to successfully perform a work by a classical playwright such as Chekov is always a challenge, so this was a brave attempt by The Nomads. Set in late 19th century Russia, the plot involves a landlord come to collect an outstanding debt incurred by a grieving widow’s late husband. She says she is unable to pay that day but the landlord refuses to leave until the debt is settled. The widow’s butler attempts without success to resolve matters. Chekov’s subtitle of the play was “A Joke in One Act” and it is intended to be an absurdist comedy, to be played in an exaggerated, ‘over the top’ fashion. Although the actors did their best to communicate the humour intrinsic to the work, it was not until near the end of the piece that this really worked to best effect. The landlord, Smirnov (Julian Edney) spoke in a Russian accent (although, incongruously, the other two characters did not) and this seemed to inhibit his delivery and projection. The script required him to perform a long and difficult monologue and he managed this as well as he could. The widow, Elena Popova (Nikky Kirkup), found some energy once the absurdity of the plot took her and Smirnov to agreeing to a duel with pistols. The butler, Luka (Colin Jones), traversed the stage on his knees to good effect as he pleaded without success for resolution. The final moment where Smirnov takes Elena in an exaggerated embrace generated warm laughter from the audience.

“Brainstorm” by Ned Glasier, Emily Lim & Company Three performed by Glow Theatre Group

This piece was described as “… a unique theatrical investigation into how teenagers’ brains work” as the cast play in rapid turnabout, themselves, their own parents, generic teenagers or generic parents of teenagers, all to illustrate the clashes of expectations and behaviour between the two generations. Performances by all eighteen of the cast were consistently lively, energetic and exciting, with excellent injections of the whole range of emotions intrinsic in teenagers – anger, frustration, manic humour – all done with great comic timing. Alice Bennett and Florence Swift particularly stood out from an excellent group. There was a mixture of dramatic illustration of teenage angst and desire for understanding through mini-scenes and direct explanation to the audience regarding the limitations in brain development of teenagers which accounted biologically for their risk-taking and inability to assess consequences and impact on others. The best of the mini-scenes was a touching interaction between a boy (Drew Patterson) and his mother where he pleads for her to not scream at him for a minor mistake and she confesses “I feel I’m losing you”. Later on, “Look at us” came the plaintive cry made by one teenager but to represent them all: the (perhaps unconscious) self-obsession intrinsic in this plea being a poignant illustration of the whole theme. This was a piece that simply demanded attention from start to finish, loudly applauded by an audience that no doubt consisted largely of the very parents that had been mischievously played by the cast, these parents perhaps reflecting on how they might better interact with their offspring in the future! This was a very clever, very skilful, very interesting and thought provoking theatrical experience.
Mark Wakeford Award for Best Stage Presentation

Thursday 27th February

“Medicine” by Enda Walsh performed by Disaster Class

The curtain opened onto a well-constructed and intriguing set designed by Henry Anderson, portraying a vaguely medical facility in the aftermath of a chaotic staff party. John Kant, portrayed with great sincerity by Cameron Day, entered wearing pyjamas, confused, yet refusing to clean up the mess that surrounded him.

From there, the audience was treated to a delightful display of physical comedy by Alix Lander as Mary 1, who was soon joined by a lobster. Yes, this was theatre of the absurd. We had caught a cheeky glimpse of Elani Baldry as the lobster earlier through the upstage booth window and it was soon revealed that she too was named Mary. Both Marys were there to engage John in what appeared to be a twisted form of drama therapy. However, rather than using theatrical techniques for counselling, these two wanted to stage a full-scale production, and their performances were hilarious. Alix’s physicality and Elani’s expressive facial reactions were particularly impressive.

As the play progressed, the light-hearted absurdity gave way to a much darker tone. The editing of Kane’s story, as though he were a second-rate playwright rather than a human being, coupled with repeated recordings of the same interview over many years, reflected an institutional indifference to his suffering. John’s breakdown toward the end was handled with great sensitivity and became a deeply moving moment, a stark contrast to the absurdity that came before.

The choice of music, coupled with Ed Jones’s live drumming on a digital kit, intensified the play's emotional climax, leaving John stranded, more lost and bewildered than ever.

Director Charlie Rider ensured that the pace of the play never faltered. Even though there were moments where the plot was hard to follow, it didn’t matter. The exceptional performances kept the audience engaged, making for a powerful and memorable experience.
Martin Patrick Award for Best Director – Charlie Rider
Best Adult Production
VERLINGUE FESTIVAL WINNERS AWARD

“Second Person Narrative ” by Gemma Kennedy performed by Glow Theatre Group

The play consisted of 30 scenes, each capturing aspects of a single character’s life, beginning with her birth and ending with her death more than 80 years later. We watched her grow up, make friends, get jobs, form relationships, win awards, buy clothes, make mistakes, have a child, discover herself, and enjoy moments of laughter. The central character, YOU, was portrayed by a different actor in each scene and the shifting portrayals of YOU added contrast and intrigue to the performance.

Thirteen talented young actors brought this ensemble piece to life, and much of the play’s energy was channelled through their collective voices, sometimes acting as a chorus, while other times breaking off into a diverse range of cameo roles. The script, gave both the cast and director ample opportunity to interpret the play in their own way, and they executed it with great aplomb. I was particularly impressed by how well-balanced the allocation of parts was among the cast.

It would be unfair to single out any one performer among this gifted youth group, so congratulations to Matilda, Emily St, Aggie, Will, Millie, Bella, Nathaniel, Lilly, Emily H, Eleanor, Malik, Caitin, and Romilly.

Each scene took place in a different setting, including a hospital, restaurant, school, clothes shop, living room, exercise class and awards ceremony. As the play swiftly transitioned between these locations, the skilful use of costumes, props, sound design and music created a vivid sense of place. Jo Morrison, the Director, not only oversaw the seamless pacing of the production but also took on the roles of stage manager, set designer, costume designer and lighting designer, truly an admirable achievement.

Friday 28th February

“Talking with Angels ” by Neil Duffield performed by Glow Theatre Group

A younger cohort of the Glow Theatre Group performed this story of Joan of Arc, which concentrated on Joan’s personal experience of the historical events, as she moves from certainty to self-doubt as she first saves France from the conquering English and then is tried and sentenced to death by the very French she has saved. Vienne Punjani played Joan with a quite remarkable range and ability that belied her age. Her diction and projection were excellent and this actor has already understood the importance of showing different emotions through her physical movement and facial expressions, as well as how her lines are spoken. She was supported by a well-choreographed and organised ensemble of Voices and Soldiers that kept the visual impact of the piece lively and colourful. Madeleine McKenna played the role of the Prince with excellent comic timing, confident and natural movement and well timed gestures. Again, her delivery was clear: this was an actor with obvious future potential and she managed an amusing scene concerning the Prince’s shoes with great aplomb. If the plot seemed to move a little slowly in places, that was the fault of the script rather than the players. The climax of Joan’s trial was well managed and the sarcasm laden cross-examination of Joan by the two Red Lawyers (Halle Sullivan and Aoife Daly), showed good acting abilities and sharp timing. This was a well organised and directed piece that gave many opportunities to showcase talents for the future.
Best Young Actress – Vienne Punjani (Joan)

“3 Birds, 1 Stone” by Ethan Thorne performed by Serenity in collaboration with The Mitre Players

This piece, performed by three 17/18 year olds, was designated as a Youth Production. Ethan Thorne wrote and directed the play, as well as taking on the leading role. It opens to reveal two young men, Daniel and Jared, apparently imprisoned in a cell empty but for two chairs. They are mystified as to why they are being held in this way, until a loudspeaker voice, seemingly of their jailer, advises them of their parlous position. This disembodied voice was delivered with convincing sinister authority. It emerges later that the voice belongs to Ben (Joshua Allen), Daniel’s brother, who has made a futile attempt to infiltrate the corrupt organisation that has imprisoned them and he is soon trapped in the cell with the others. Jared (Bailee Sheldon) used to work for the organisation as a security guard. Although his projection faltered a little at the beginning of the play, he showed a good and authentic display of emotion as he progressed to despair and near hysteria in realisation of his plight. To explain how he came to be in the prison, Daniel (Ethan Thorne), an investigative journalist, narrates his back story (as do the other two characters) and these passages, although necessary accounts to enable the audience to understand the plot, rather unbalanced the piece: in essence, too much ‘tell’ and not enough ‘show’. Daniel sustained a convincing level of high emotion throughout but his performance might have benefited from some subtleties of variation. As tempers flare, there was an excellent and skilful fight sequence involving all three actors. A fresh disembodied voice urges them to drink glasses of fatal poison. Why they are required to do this and why all three so readily comply was not entirely clear but it made for a suitably dramatic ending to this darkly tragic play.

“Find Me” by Olwyn Wymark performed by Glow Theatre Group

This is a story based on true events about Verity Taylor (not her real name), traced through her childhood and teenage years, in which family, school, health service and social services are unable to cope with her erratic and increasingly challenging behaviour, leading eventually to a committal to Broadmoor at the age of twenty. The play opens with the five Verities who will play her at different ages on stage together. In their matching red tops, they shine torches onto their own faces in a highly effective visual tableau. Other characters are also represented by different actors – there are three versions of her father and four of her mother. These interchanges were highly effective and added to the rapid and colourful pace of this production. Today, Verity’s behaviour might have been categorised as autistic and have received more sympathetic responses from the various authorities. As it was, the bureaucratic inflexibility and the increasingly desperate family encounters were cleverly portrayed, particularly when the two doctors stood dominant on tables above the family and fired insensitive questions at them. The impact of Verity’s behaviour on the family is well portrayed: the brother who (justifiably) complains that Verity spoils everything, including a disastrous holiday in France; the mother who movingly delivers a monologue in which she asks if you can imagine your own child driving you to drink and whether it was her own fault that Verity turned out as she did. Eventually, the mother cannot cope and leaves home. As Verity is committed to Broadmoor the five return to again shine the torches on their faces. “Find me”, they plead.

Saturday 1st March

“Old Times” by Molly Taylor performed by Glow Theatre Group

The story, a whodunnit of sorts, with a large cast, was a challenge for this young company which they handled admirably. The cast was split in two. One half of the cast portrayed 17-18 year-olds, meeting to discuss an incident from when they were 13, an event that still haunted them in the present. The other half of the cast played their 13 year old selves. Through flashbacks, Taylor’s play examined childhood loyalty and betrayal.

There was a great moment early in the play, when the younger characters came on stage, swirling amongst their grown-up versions like shadows. Sometimes it was hard to work out the pairings. However, director Jackie Driscoll skilfully indicated which character was being played, using body language and subtle visual clues. The acting was strong throughout, but Rosie Chambers, as the older Stefi, commanded the stage, portraying her growing fear and distress at what Tom Joy's release from prison might mean. Zach Millar also impressed as Stefi’s ailing twin, although his was a quiet understated performance. Zach also played their father and his easy switch from one to the other was impressive.

Lennon Goswell played the young Tom Joy with a swaggering insolence. Was he heading back to town, to wreak revenge or perhaps find justice? We had to wait until the end of the play to discover what crime he had committed.

Tamsin Filipe-Harrington as Amma, Pierce O'Brien as Kobi, Lucy Roe as Belle, and Max Hinton as Ray all fleshed out their characters impressively. The younger crew had less time to impress in their parts, but Emmylou, Linus, Brooke, Imogen, Isabella, Jess, and Charlie all performed extremely well.

Jackie Driscoll directed this group masterfully in this well written play about relationships between friends, siblings and other family members, while also stage managing and designing the set, costumes, and lighting. She was ably assisted by Katie Palmer and Malcolm Le Croissette, Richard Grogan and Dominic Palmer in the crew
Best Young Actor – Zach Millar (Zafer 17)
Best Youth Production

“The 39 Steps: Even More Abridged” by Patrick Barlow performed by The Mitre Players

Mitre Players gave us an (even more) abridged version of John Buchan's The 39 Steps. Richard Hannay is accused of murder, but to clear his name and save his country, he must first find out the meaning of the 39 Steps. This incarnation of the classic "boys' own" story takes its inspiration more from the Hitchcock film of the same name than from Buchan's original, but is probably the better for it.

Running at just under an hour, this was physical theatre on steroids, the action rattling along like the London to Edinburgh Express. The ensemble cast, including Neil O'Gorman as Hannay, and Rachael Adams, Paul Grace, and Jane Kortlandt playing everyone and everything else, ripped through this ripping yarn with unbelievable pace and energy.

Neil was the embodiment of a 1930s gentleman, using his height and physicality to hilarious effect throughout, especially when extricating himself from a chair with a body lying over the arms. Rachael morphed effectively from femme fatale to beautiful sidekick and there was another particularly funny moment when she tried to remove her stockings while handcuffed to one of Neil's very long arms.

Jane and Paul excelled in their impressively quick transitions into dozens of characters—hats on, kilts down, accents coming thick and fast—and more set pieces than you can throw a haggis at. The set changed at an alarming rate, as did the characters. There were men playing women, women playing men and everyone, it seemed, at some point, playing scenery. Trunks became cars or railway carriages, doors moved hither and yon and there were planes and guns, policemen and spies, femme fatales and handcuffs.

All of that presented a huge challenge for the back stage team who rose to it magnificently - even making cameo appearances.

Orchestrated by Jerri-Lee McManus in her triumphant debut directorial role, this was an absolute rollercoaster, leaving the audience barely any time to catch their breath from laughing.
Best Adult Actor – Neil O’Gorman (Richard Hannay)
Adjudicator’s Award for Comedy of the Week

Reviews by Morven Rae, & Peter Shore
Photos by Mike Sutton