|
|
|
With
the title of this play being what it is, you may be forgiven for expecting
a traditional seaside farce, however this is not entirely the case. True
the work does contain many hysterical moments but there is far more to
this script than comedy. Throughout its six scenes, it highlights each
character in turn focusing on issues in their lives they can least accept
covering stress, poverty and sexual abuse with alarming realism. For Vicki
it provided the perfect vehicle for her to return to her dramatic roots
requiring her to act through the entire spectrum of emotions in the first
twenty minutes alone, from joy and humour to despair and hopelessness,
covering some highly sensitive, provocative and profound issues along the
way and which she achieved with a performance of outstanding quality, more
of which, later.
The
play is set in a delightful five bed roomed period cottage in the heart of
Oxfordshire, with the plot revolving around the central character Glenda
Parry, played by Vicki. The action begins with Glenda and her husband, the
Rev. Robert Parry, played by Mark Elstob, in the middle of a blazing row.
Originally a successful and affluent businessman, Robert has since devoted
is life to God in the form of an extremely pious vicar as a result of
being delivered unscathed from a horrendous car crash. Ergo, Glenda finds
herself thrust into a complete role transformation from a glamorous
executives wife, organising extravagant dinner parties, to one of an
impoverished village clergyman, struggling to make ends meet and dealing
with her own identity crisis whilst simultaneously organising the village
fete and solving the problems of all who arrive on her doorstep. The
stresses and strains of ensuing events, manifest themselves in ever
increasing rows which Robert misguidedly attributes to PMT thus doing
nothing to ease the pressure on their faltering marriage.
With mounting
debts and abject frustration, Glenda turns to writing saucy material for
American magazines to boost their income but is issued with an ultimatum
by Robert who considers the articles to be inappropriate, to stop by the
time he returns from a four week seminar or face the consequences. Upon
his departure, Glenda turns to her friends for solace all of whom are in
financial distress. Enter Joe Carpenter, a millionaire lottery winner who
has moved into the haunted manor at the other end of the village. Seeking
help by way of exorcism, he arrives at the cottage in search of the vicar
but it soon becomes clear, there is more to Joe than meets the eye!
Before the evening is out, Glenda and her friends find themselves bearing
their souls to him and discussing the lengths to which they would go for
money. After several glasses of wine, the decision is made. With Joe as
their minder and his friend Selina, a professional in the field acting as
advisor, the girls agree to become high class escorts for one week only to
ease their financial burdens. This decision gives way to a flood of
decadent behaviour incorporating the use of feather boas and strawberry
yoghurt, leading to without doubt, the most hilarious moments of the play.
That said, these moments are interspersed with some pretty harrowing
scenes in which the leading characters describe the turn of events, which
have led them into their respective situations. As with much
fiction, all’s well that ends well. The girl’s hopes and finances are
restored and Robert returns from his seminar a much wiser man in blissful
ignorance of his wife’s antics and ready to repair his wobbly marriage.
It was clear
from the first performance that this production was destined to be a
resounding success with audience involvement being greater than anyone
could have hoped for. Did Vicki think that people might have been offended
by some of the more controversial aspects of the play? “Not judging by the
reaction. The play contains a great deal of realism which is dealt with by
using a good degree of humour and I suppose that could have been seen as
risqué. I think the comedy came more as a result of audiences being able
to nod knowingly at the escapades therein. There is a lot of truth in the
script which people could relate to their own lives”. Glenda being a very
demanding role, had Vicki found playing her a challenge? “I loved playing
her because she underwent so many transformations. She gave me the
opportunity not just to play for laughs but to return to some more
dramatic scenes the like of which I used to perform when I first began
acting. People always expect me to play really glamorous women but at the
beginning of this play, I was anything but. I wore a plain robe, no make
up and looked decidedly unglamorous. Through the course of the play,
Glenda had to undergo several changes both characteristically and visually
which were great to play and allowed me to give the audiences a few
surprises”.
No
doubt the surprises to which Vicki was referring include Glenda’s
acrimonious row with Robert delivered with such venom any self respecting
viper would be proud, building herself into a consummate frenzy before
dissolving into floods of tears. Or the harrowing and heart rending
account of her childhood upbringing in the austere Victorian style
orphanage, guaranteed to bring a tear to anyone’s eye. Or maybe even the
provocative, erotic and comedic dance in act 2 which had the audience
literally rocking with laughter.
Whichever way you view it, this was a totally committed performance in
every aspect and justly applauded by both audiences and critics alike. The
Stage newspaper heralded the production as “Truly excellent and genuinely
funny in which Vicki Michelle was outstanding”.
Reviews
From
The Stage
 Michelle
is outstanding amid a cast of the very best quality.
A
laugh from the minute Vicki Michelle opens proceedings.
Perfectly
executed routines, which says a great deal for the quality of acting and
direction.
Truly
excellent. |
|
|
