The Farndale Avenue Townswomen's Guild Amateur Dramatical Society's Production of A Haunted Through Lounge and Recessed Nook at Farndale Castle by David McGillivray and Walter Zetlin Jnr
Knebworth Village Hall
Thursday 21st to Saturday 23rd October 2010
Curtain Up 8pm

The ladies of the Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic Society make yet another spectacle of themselves, complete with their harassed producer and some extremely vigorous sound effects. This is a sinister, spine-chilling mystery of murder and mayhem that is guaranteed to bring the house down - or at least a substantial part of the set!

Versatile as ever, the company is led by Thelma (playing the juvenile lead) with spirited support from the indomitable Mrs Reece, the unfortunate Felicity and two new recruits to the group: the fraught Jasmine and Austrian Lottie - who has a little trouble getting her tongue around some of the more idiomatic phrases. As a special treat for the audience, the annual Farndale Laureate will be chosen from the three finalists in the poetry reading competition, a most moving experience. All in all, it is an evening no-one dare miss.

Brought down the house - literally!
The Mercury
28th October 2010

This production lived up to its promise to bring the house – or should that be the set?

The intitial announcement was suitable muffled and impossible to hear with the actors on stage in bathrobes attempting a last minute rehearsal. Mayhem continued with some hilarious jokes resulting from mistimed cues, misplaced properties and skilfully mispronounced dialogue.

The Players set themselves a difficult task when undertaking this play and produced an imaginative solution to the many challenges of a disintegrating set which included a falling bookcase and a collapsing four poster bed. The cut out piano, clock and car all added to the apparent amateurish look of the production but were, in fact, delightfully funny and worked well to gain audience appreciation.

Mrs Reece (Lesley Shadbolt) cast the audience as her Townswomen’s Guild with complete confidence alternating between a caring motherly hen to a fussy chairman. Her bumbling irritated Thelma (Alison Levesley), who switched in and out of her role as June, the love-sick teenager with proficiency. June’s fiancé, the German-accented Martie (Liane Welch) maintained her deadpan expression throughout every calamity, timing her expressions and gestures to maximum effect. Kelly-Ann Corderoy did sterling work as The Old Yokel, Arnold Death, Dr Blood and Rev Tombs, organising her entrances with and without distressed baby with excellent timing. What self respecting castle would be without its maid, Crematia (Sue George) falling on her face and generally busying herself with the properties and losing the suitcases – or was it the plot?

Everyone handled the malapropisms deftly and the reversed dialogue with expertise.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Ann E Neuff