17th Oct 2017
Cast
The Charltons
David Beston
Tracy Office
Jack Robert Young
Declan Marshall
The Armstrongs
John Errington
Viv Wiggins
Katie Stubbs
Directed by Jim Barton
Written by David Cooke this is a comedy set in neighbouring flats in South Shields in the 1970. It follows the relationships of two families. The Charltons, and the Armstrongs. They have very different outlooks on life, and very different lifestyles. The Charltons are a dyed in the wool Shields family, Des is a bloke's bloke, the life and soul of the party. They are established in their home which was left to them by Des's mother. The Armstrongs have moved into their flat after a downturn in their fortunes. Alvera has had to give up her big house, full of all the mod-cons the 70s could offer and take a job cleaning other people's big houses. She is not happy in the flat.
The contrasts between the two families provide the opportunity for comedy. Des is constantly drunk, while George Armstrong is straight-laced and serious, disillusioned with life. As the play progresses we learn that all is not as it seems for either of the households. Life in the Charlton's house is not quite the one long party it appears. Pushed to the limit by their husbands' attitudes and behaviours, the two wives take action and creating the bizarre circumstance that finally reveals all the secrets of the two families. Alongside this their sons and daughter watch the developments and play out their own drama.
There is a lot wit in the sparring verbal sparring between the characters, and this is the strength of the play. The dialogue is very funny, and the extreme action the women take to teach their men a lesson leads to humorous situations. But there is a lot going on in this play - it has more twists than a corkscrew. There are several threads - the reason for George Armstrong losing his job, the history behind the dislike between the two men, not to mention what is really going on in Des Charlton's life. Then there is the two sons and the daughter's storylines. The play tackles unemployment, self esteem, relationships, teenage aspiration, family values, sexism and chauvinism, and the value of reputation and principles and finally of friendship and vindication. That's a whole lot for one play to try to deal with. Act One lays the foundations and sets us up for the (many) revelations that are to come. It is the stronger half of the play - because of its simplicity. Act Two has so much to unveil that it loses its way a little - it feels like there are just too many threads to follow. You could make two plays out of it - one with the adult's story and another with the teenager's story. Director Jim Barton does a fair job of pulling it all together.
That said it is very funny and the characters are likeable despite their many flaws. The set is cleverly done with the stage split between the two flats, and the lighting and freeze frame effects work well as the action swaps between the Charlton's and the Armstrong's homes. There are good performances from all the cast. as always we see some excellent drunk acting from all four adults but particularly David Beston. I think particular mention should go to Declan Marshall who gave an assured performance as Jack Charlton in his stage debut.
All Together Like the Folks of Shields runs until Sat 21st October. It will give you a laugh even if, like me, you come from Sunderland.
Denise Sparrowhawk
No comments:
Post a Comment