Day of Reckoning by Pam Valentine
Thursday 7 - Saturday 9 February 2008
Knebworth Village Hall at 8pm

When the curtains opened for the final dress rehearsal on the Wednesday night, it was nice for me not to think "What's my first line?". Instead, I sat out front and relaxed to see the Knebworth Players' production of Day of Reckoning. I had deliberately skipped rehearsals so I knew nothing of the storyline, the characters or the staging. Even at committee meetings I blocked my ears when the forthcoming event was discussed. So here I was, open-minded and with a cuppa in hand... and a couple (or three) biscuits which I'd pinched from the KP biscuit tin. I sat back to be entertained ... and entertained I was. It would be easy to say this was good, that was funny but I was truely captivated from start to finish.

The first half revolved around a committee meeting with a whole host of characters who we can all relate to. The pace was amazing. The director, Clive George had asked in rehearsals for characters to overlap their lines - this worked so well and came across so naturally to anyone who knows just how hard it is to keep people quiet at any committee meeting. It gave the whole act a sense of realism and professionalism. The cast were strong and convincing as they battled to have their say.

Act One was visually static, sitting around a table. All 8 of the cast and all sitting at one level in almost a row (an almost no, no when staging any play to make it interesting) but it worked so well, not only because this made it true to life but the dialogue was so funny and the characters were so polished that you felt you were at the table with them. It would have been easy to join in the debates.

I'm well aware that there was movement in Act One. We had each character arriving on the cold winter's evening straight after Christmas. Busy body and nosey Ethel Swift (Pauline Jordan) was great in the way that she not only knew everyone's gossip but also in the way that she managed to drop it into the most innocent of conversations, sometimes in an "I'm only trying to help" way and at other times just delivering an attack with a straight verbal punch. She went from whispered confidential gossip to as much subtlty as a town crier.

Alison Levesley played Angela Brownlee, a young school teacher new to the area. She played a nervous new member to the village. Wanting to help, but never quite sure how to put her point across. There's a change in this character much later when we saw a strong, defensive side to Angela and yet, even then other qualities of her vulnerability came through. A lot of different attributes to be found in one character that Alison as an actress could explore.

Once again Shirley King who played the "old girl" was lovely, adorable and you just wanted to take her home, although she had a grumpy moany side to herself too. She was able to laugh at herself and had a big heart, as big as the blanket she was knitting throughout Act One for the "Third World". Although the village cemetary was full of her family, the Partridges, this tough old bird wasn't going anywhere and with her old fashioned values of not liking to leave the room to use the toilet in the presence of the vicar, she gave some great British humour to the scene.

Barbara Holgate-Stuckey played Sally Martin, a woman who seemed to be too busy to be involved in a committee meeting. She had a busy, hectic social calendar, which comes through having a husband in the armed forces. The part was a likeable snob who had everything that she desired... well almost ... other than the real love and committment of "The Vicar" although she knew a vicar's wife was a long way from the life she had built for herself. Sally even turned out a broken cherub because it was not perfect for her to look at after the big sweaty builders, building her conservatory had knocked off its arrow. With a strong likeness to Penelope Keith in To the Manor Born this character was very humourous, particularly with Barbara's facial expressions and body language.

When Gloria Pitt arrived, played byGill Hutchinson, just the arrival alone on her bike was humourous and convincing - here was this lovely warm lady who shone through despite coming in frozen and exhausted. She immediately jumped in as Madam Chairperson. The awkwardness between making a conversation with Angela was played so well. Both ladies unable to strike up common ground to break the ice on just meeting. Gloria was a courteous lady, who like Sally, had a posh background and was well brought up - yet unlike Sally, had such a different quality of life. Having to be there at home for her mother's every need, tray after tray of pills, potions and late night horlicks. You felt like you wanted to rescue her.

Liane Welch played Marjorie Organ, the horse-mad tomboy who you could see in her eyes the minute that she arrived, was taken by Angela Brownlee. Liane played the part with humour and it wasn't always what she said but how she said it that brought Marjorie to life. Even her moments of silence on stage, you could see her clearly calculating her next moves on Angela and her moments with the Vicar in Act Two were moments that you just couldn't predict from her character. With her, we again saw a vulnerability behind her tough outer shell.

Pauline Morris (Lesley Shadbolt) was the sometimes embarrassed wife of Geoffrey, the Vicar. Either apologising or making excuses, here was a woman who seemed trapped by life but as she becomes aware of the relationship her husband is having with Sally, we see her becoming stronger, defiant and a force not to be reckoned with.

Finally, the only male character, was the Vicar played by Wayne Jarvis. The minute that he walked on the stage we knew that he had come from the Coach and Horses. He came in disorientated and clearly worse for wear but played the part convincingly. You just knew he couldn't walk in a straight line. It was lovely the way that Gloria Pitt tried to cover up him missing the coat hook when hanging up his coat. The change of character at the end of Act One as the Vicar and Sally Martin kiss was a shock to the audience, no sign that it was coming until they looked passionately into each other's eyes, then nervously laughed and reminded each other that they should get Gloria's bike home as promised. Then, when they both happily gave into temptation it was still "Did I just see that?!" A great end to Act One and beautifully played and directed.

Act Two was full of twists and turns and each character underwent a metamorphosis, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Even Mavis Partridge (Shirley King) shows an aggressive side in protecting the Vicar's reputation. Angela Brownlee (Alison Levesley) shows she's not going to be pushed around and cornered or manipulated by a string of events.

For me, the whole play was funny, amazingly quick in pace and humour, superbly directed and the set, convincingly plain for Act One - a cold evening after Christmas in a village hall changing to the sunlit window for the summer fete in Act Two. The notice board had changed and the Christmas decorations where pushed into the cupboard in Act Two - detail was spot on. As I watched the three productions with three nice sized audiences I found that I'd leant alot about myself and the Players. Each night I got the same show, exact to detail and each night I was equally drawn to the play.

For me despite the humour, the gossip and the pace, the one part that stole the show for me was between desperate Gloria (Gill Hutchinson) and the Vicar, Geoffrey (Wayne Jarvis). When the likeable Gloria suddenly admitted her dark secret of killing her own mother, the character and the play took a dark, deeper direction. The way this scene was played and delivered was astounding. Gill, as an actress, held the attention of the audience, delivering every line, every word and every quivvering breath with so much emotion, at times cold and frosty and yet compassionate and fearful. Superbly supported by Wayne in this part of the scene, it was as if the whole stage was in darkness as Gill walked to the front of the stage and delivered a real piece of theatre. As I recently said, Amateur means "not paid", not necessarily less professional or less good. This was acting that was undoubtedly powerful for many reasons. I looked around the audience and every head was transfixed at the stage, people were not aware of who they were sitting next to or where their drink was - you could hear a pin drop. It was as if no one dared breathe for fear of interupting the moment. I watched this part of the play four times during the week and each night the power was amazing.

Humour-wise the "poodle sketch" had me in stitches especially when Ethel lets out "it slipped its collar in the best behaved bitch class didn't it Vicar?" The dialogue was fast and hilarious.

So my verdict. Everybody moans about the TV today, so go to the theatre tomorrow. I not only enjoyed being entertained by the KPs but I felt, as I am sure many other members of the Front of House team, the Director (Clive George) and the Producer (Sue George) felt; very proud indeed! Amen!

Reviewed by Robert Ward