5th - 7th February 2009
Ali BaBa and the Forty Thieves
Directed by Bett Hewlett
This is one of the fabulous collection of stories from the countries of the middle east and even the far east. These stories known to us as "The Thousand and One Arabian Nights" were supposedly told to King Shahryar by his wife Shahazad. They are full of strong magic, breathtaking treasure, beautiful people and ugly spirit.
The story of Ali BaBa is different in that it is about a poor woodcutter, one of the more ordinary characters to feature in these tales. He too finds magic, treasure and enough adventure to last him a lifetime. A lifetime that is very nearly cut short by the villain of the piece, a robber chief and his band of forty thieves. Too fortunately Ali BaBa has a guardian angel in the shape of Morgiana, a slave girl who does her best to prevent Ali BaBa suffering the dreadful fate that overtook his greedy father, Kasim. Twice Morgiana saves Ali BaBa's life. The first time she took on all forty of the thieves, who armed to the teeth were hiding in large old jars. The second time she challenged the robber chief himself. Ali BaBa also contrives to saddle himself with not one but two wives who between them manage to cause a good deal of trouble.
This is a fast moving story full of surprises, some delightful others perhaps rather macabre and even rather frightening, but all good clean family fun.
19th - 21st March 2009
Home
Directed by Tony Edwards
The setting is a lovely day in a sunny park. Two elderly gentlemen chat for a while before being joined by two equally elderly and chatty ladies All is bright and cheerful, the chat like that heard in any bar or bowling club, ranging over all manner of different topics. But gradually it become apparent that all is not as it seems. This funny and very touching play is a classic. It premiered iat The Royal Court London in 1970, with John Guilgud and Ralph Richardson, Dandy Nichols, Mona Washbourne and Warren Clarke
Home was first performed by Moot House Players in 1974 with Jack Mitchley and Ken Collins taking the lead roles. In the forthcoming production the cast will be Robbie Chittick, Geoff Leeds, Joan Lanario, Jenny Southwell and Dan Powell.
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MOOT House Players revisited a modern classic in this enjoyable performance of David Storey's critically acclaimed Home. The play, first presented by the group in 1974, at first seems to be about two elderly men putting the world to rights and reminiscing about the past - but it becomes apparent all is not as it seems. The dynamic of the play shifts when two deluded women appear on the scene and it soon begins to click that this seemingly straightforward drama is in fact a subtle The intimate setting of only two chairs and a table provided the perfect backdrop and the use of few props allowed the captivated audience to focus entirely on the The actors made good use of the stage, using every nook and cranny to ensure no part of the audience was excluded. Flirtatious Kathleen (Joan Lanario) produced the most laughs as she continuously flashed her knickers in a bid to add to her ever-growing list of conquests. Alfred (Dan Powell), meanwhile, who fought aggressively with tables and chairs, garnered numerous belly laughs for his brilliant portrayal of a nervous and confused would- The play ended on a rather sad note and I left the theatre feeling sorry and saddened for the circumstances in which the characters came to be in the hospital, but in Sophie Warner |
14th - 16th May 2009
Lysistrata
Directed by Rosie Caswell
Written around 411 B.C. this is probably the best known of Aristophanes plays and rightly so. Hellenic women are in despair, neglected by their men, who pay them cursory visits before rushing off to yet another battle, they finally decide to take the matter into their own fragile hands. Led by Lysistrata they take a vow never to sleep with teir husbands until lasting peace is declared. Their victory is inevitable but the process by which theta chive their ends is both clever and hilariously funny.
The text is raunchy and outspoken like the characters and definitely for adults and not for children or the faint hearted.
PLEASE NOTE: Performance contains strong language and strong sexual references
Photo Gallery 2
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THIS was a thoroughly enjoyable production with much to hold the eye and ear, but I confess I spent some time checking the faces of audience members as this Ancient Greek play burst into life at Moot Hall. For, despite previously published warnings, many spectators looked a little stunned as the earthy language and sexual references were delivered with gusto. It's one thing to experience this sort of dialogue in the cinema or on the TV, but to hear four letter words spilling from the lips of live cast members can take some getting used to. Contrary to popular belief - and the jokey writings of Philip Larkin - sex does not date from the 1960s. It's been around for a good deal longer, as this spirited drama can testify. Written by Aristophanes around 411 BC, it tells how the war-weary women of Greece stage a sex strike in order to force their misogynist men folk to abandon conflict and sue for peace. Skilfully adapted and directed by Rosemary Caswell, the players' production featured a line up of strong and passionate women, determined to achieve their goal in the face of anger and derision from their husbands. Led by Lysistrata herself, they overcome their own sense of frustration and much male pestering to win their cause. As Lysistrata, Rosalind Barron gave a sparky and focused performance, bravely defying a torrent of threats and bullying, led by the local magistrate. As the pompous official, Michael Caswell both amused and impressed as he turned from bombastic to cringing in a heartbeat. Ably led Geoff Leeds as Drakis, the sneering schoolboy-like antics of the men were highly comical - but they were upstaged by Tony Edwards, hilarious as doddery Strymo, carried away with lustful memories as his sex-starved colleagues discussed their frustrations!
Claire Quley and Dan Powell were engaging as young couple Myrrhini and Kinesias: their scene where the wife agrees to sleep with the husband out in the open, only to blindfold him and run off, generated much laughter. And Dan showed great comic timing during an interaction sequence with the audience. With a stunning set and beautiful costumes - the trademarks of an MHP staging - this production was very easy on the eye, even if some of the dialogue was a little tough on the ears of a few audience members.
Bridget McAlpine |
9th - 11th July 2009
Fathers Day
Directed by Claire Quley
It's a cold winter's evening and bitter, irascribable divorce Henry is enjoying a Scotch and some classical music in glorious solitude. He is soon disturbed, however, by the unwelcome appearance of his son Matthew, bringing with him his new girlfriend, the unappealing punk/goth Christine.
Matthew is keen for reconciliation with his father, but Henry is quite happy the way things are, and sparks soon fly - but this is just the beginning, for who should arrive next but Henry's ex-wife, Matthews mother Sue!
As the cold night wears on Henry and Sue can't help but rake over the ashes of their seemingly dead relationship and to their surprise the faint glow of new tenderness develops between them. Before long Henry is facing some important decisions...
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A SITCOM is nothing without strong characters, and a stage adaptation of a sitcom is always at rick of diluting the quirks and idiosyncrasies of the TV shows stars beyond recognition But from the moment Jon McNamara strolled on to the stage, poured himself a scotch and settled down for a blissfully peaceful evening with nothing but his goldfish and classical LP's for company, there was no mistaking his role for nothing other than that of crotchey divorcee Henry Willows. McNamara was simply brilliant of his reprisal of John Thaw's character in Home To Roost, replicating the dry wit, irascibility and hidden warmth of a man who comes to realise solitude is not the life he craves. When his estranged son Matthew (played with great conviction by Dan Powell) turns up on his doorstep with his pierced and pregnant girlfriend Christine (Kerry Rowland), Henry is initially hesitant to try and patch up their strange relationship. But when nagging yet confusingly coquettish ex-wife Sue (Biddy McAlpine, playing it coy and cool) completes the triumvirate of unwelcome house guests, Henry reluctantly slips in to the role of husband and father as one chrisis leads to another and the family man within him begins to stir from its enforced torpor. Before long, he finds himself in bed with his ex-wife, his layabout son reluctantly agrees to go back to college and an unwanted granchild is revealed to be someone elses concern. The cast excelled under the direction of Claire Quley to skillfully depict the afecting tale of a man who finally achieves personal salvation in the last place he thought to look - his own family. - Chris Moss |