Dry Rot @ Darlington Civic

Straight from the horse’s mouth

In this current climate of dodgy politicians, corrupt cricketers and footballers fraudulently pretending to actually give a d… it was quite fitting that this week’s foray to the theatre was to watch a Whitehall Farce centred around a crooked bookie and his two accomplices devising a cunning plan to 'get rich quick’.  John Chapman’s play, first performed in 1954, is set in the 1930’s with the quintessential English approach to lovable rogues, the stiff upper lip of the officer classes and the almost dismissive way ‘Johnny foreigner’ is treated.

The plot is simplicity in itself – Honest Alf, Flash Harry and Fred (I kid you not, these are the names used) plan to kidnap the odds-on favourite horse and replace it with their own decrepit nag and thus, by laying on the horse to lose, pocket a tidy £10,000.  Think Arthur Daley running Channel 4 racing.  In true style, the plan immediately starts to unravel, first when they realise that the replacement horse would never pass muster as the favourite, and then when they take up their digs for race week only to find that the jockey, a diminutive Frenchman who speaks not a word of the Queens English, is also ‘stabled’ at the same inn.  Secret passages, eccentric characters and malapropisms abound to create a degree of controlled mayhem.

The pacing isn’t perhaps as slick and tight as some of the better known farces; there was a little too much time taken with setting up the back story of the Colonel and his family having only recently taken over the inn, but it is a nostalgic look back at a style of stage production which ruled the West End for many decades. The fact that Dry Rot features in the National Theatres top 100 plays of all time is more to recognise the well crafted script than any timelessness of the production.

The slapstick style of mad-cap humour normally associated with farce is sadly missing , but this didn’t really detract from a very funny story played out by a very capable cast of some of the country's best loved faces, including Liza Goddard, Susan Penhaligon (with a creamy West Country accent that made me weak every time she spoke), Gareth Hale & Norman Pace, Neil Stacy and Derren Nesbitt. 

Particular mention to Zoe Mills as Susan Wagstaff who brought a real period feel to her look and performance – part wide eyed debutante, part love struck damsel whose flawless appearance is very reminiscent of the silent movie screen idols Lillian Gish and Blanche Sweet. 

Farces are a dying production, driven to their graves by the desire for more immediate, and perhaps more risque humour, but there is still a place for a good farce, if for no other reason than to see where our current comedic shows have their roots.  Dry Rot is on at Darlington Civic until Saturday June 30th

The Verdict @ Darlington Civic

I have to admit that whilst I profess to being reasonably literate and enjoy a wide range of reading material in the bookcases at home, I have yet to enter into the realms of Agatha Christie - no particular reason, I've just found more appealing titles grab my attention first. 

Of course I am aware of the blockbusting films based on her famous novels but Monday night presented the opportunity to sample first hand a play written by Ms Christie specifically for the stage.

Verdict is very different from the standard fayre associated with Agatha Christie; for one, it is not a whodunit, we are presented first hand with the situation & witness the act with no sense of mystery.  It is more like a melodrama but this in no way detracts from the exquisite word play and character depth.

The play tells the story of Karl Hendryk, a brilliant professor who, with his wife and her cousin, have fled persecution in their country. The professor is happy to devote his time to life in a British university, where he becomes much sought after by students & teachers alike. His wife, Anya, is an invalid who resents having to leave her home & follow her husband to London.  She readily recognises her dependency on her husband and cousin, Lise, and teeters on the brink of suicidal tendencies. Whilst Karl and Lise have suppressed feelings for each other their love for Anya prevents them ever acting on these however when a rich young rich student, Helen Rollander, takes on private lessons with the professor the status quo is permanently upset.

The story plays out completely in the professors flat, there are no scene changes; this really draws you into the characters' world and adds to the intensity , especially when Anya laments being 'trapped' in a dull & soulless place. 

The cast, who arguably have much less to work with than in other Christie productions have, in my view, more scope to deliver themselves into the parts; the lack of plot twists, secrets and subterfuge demands more emotionally charged deliveries to keep the story moving and Monday's players did not disappoint at all. 

Robert Duncan plays the man who loves 2 women and is loved by 3 with an almost innocent 'absent minded professor' approach creating a beautiful yet pitiful vulnerability.  Susan Penhaligon  delivered an emotionally charged Lise beset with frustration, devotion and despair - of all the productions I have seen this year Susan's was undoubtedly the most moving.  Holly Goss, as the spoilt little rich girl Helen Rollander provides a wonderful twist on the femme fatale whilst Mark Wynter as Dr Stone adds pace and friendly direction through Karl's emotionally intense musings.  Just to balance this seriousness, Elizabeth Power's house keeper Mrs Roper has a wonderful timing, cutting through the tension as she 'eases the burden'  of there being too much tea in the house.

If you're looking for a classic Christie murder mystery then this is not for you, however if you want a wonderfully engaging play, more a why-do-it than a whodunit, and delivered by a great cast then look no further.

Agatha Christie's Verdict is at Darlington Civic Theatre from 26th Sept to 1st October