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 NEVILLE'S ISLAND - TIM FIRTH
- Currently running at
- THE WATERMILL THEATRE
- Bagnor, West Berkshire
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- A Comedy in thick fog &
- A stage with running water...!
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- Directed by Heather Davies
Designed by Isla Shaw
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- 29th September - 6th November
Box Office: 01635 46044
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It’s team build weekend
at Pennine Spring Water Ltd. Our four heroes are determined to
win. As they arrive on an island in the middle of Derwentwater
they are sure of success - they are out in front and the other
teams are nowhere to be seen!
But are Neville’s map
reading skills as good as he thinks? And over breakfast, did
Angus spot the hidden clues in the instructions that everyone
else missed?
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Team building just does not
come into it. The disparate group of middle-aged, middle-management
businessmen sent on a weekend initiative test in the Lake District
by their Salford water company employers cannot even get their
act together sufficiently to take a boat across Derwentwater
without sinking it.
Tim Firth’s popular comedy
maroons the hapless quartet on a fog shrouded island and most
of the laughs - and this is a hugely funny play, sometimes savagely
so - stem from the alacrity with which the normal civilities
of office life are abandoned to recriminations, bullying, breast-beating
and middle-age angst.
As Neville, the self-appointed
captain, Robert Benfield is a pompous but likeable bubble of
ineffectual wind. Julian Harries, as Roy, bears the beatific
smile of a recent convert to religion but we can tell from the
stricken look in his eyes he is perilously close to the edge
of another breakdown.
The office bully Gordon - a
sergeant major-ish Tony Turner - uses the predicament to give
full vent to his blistering sarcasm, while miserable Angus (Jonathan
Jaynes), agonises over his middle-class lifestyle and precarious
marriage.
The shifting pecking order
as the foursome wait in vain for a speedy rescue is only occasionally
predictable and never fails to amuse, even when events take a
distinctly dark turn.
The ensemble playing is exemplary
and Dawn Allsopp’s meticulous set is tremendous - totally
convincing, from the rocky outcrops, to the real trees, right
down to the muddy water lapping the shore.
James Hayward
- THE STAGE ONLINE
Some theatres you could
imagine having a lake on stage. Large theatres. But the Watermill?
Well, they’ve managed it for Neville’s Island. And
three of the bedraggled quartet on a disastrous management training
course in the Lake District make their entrance through the lake.
There’s no slow build-up here, it’s straight into the
laughs, and Act One is hilarious from start to finish.
The four are managers from
a northern company and Neville, the leader of the team, (Chris
Myles) has misread the instructions and shipwrecked them on an
island. Gordon (Colin Mace) is the cynical comedian of the crew,
Angus (Giles Taylor) is the naïve one, but he’s brought
all the survival hardware apart from the kitchen sink. Roy (Alisdair
Simpson) is the quiet bird-watching Christian with problems.
In Act Two, the humour is altogether
darker, leading to a Lord-of-the-Flies-type climax. Excellent
acting and a very funny script make this an evening to enjoy.
Highly recommended.
PAUL SHAVE -
KICK FM
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- Previously at
- OLDHAM COLISEUM
- Fairbottom Street, Oldham,
OL 1 3BR
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- Directed by Kevin Shaw
Designed by Richard Foxton
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- 24th June - 17th July 2004
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| NEVILLE'S
ISLAND |
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Click
for larger image |
- Starring
- MARTIN REEVE
- JAMES NICKERSON
- PARVEZ QADIR
- CHRISTOPHER WRIGHT
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A comedic exploration of
the benefits of the business outward bound course and how relationships
can be changed forever by a weekend away in the country…
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| NEVILLE'S
ISLAND |
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It’s team build weekend
at Pennine Spring Water Ltd. Our four heroes are determined to
win. As they arrive on an island in the middle of Derwentwater
they are sure of success - they are out in front and the other
teams are nowhere to be seen!
But are Neville’s map
reading skills as good as he thinks? And over breakfast, did
Angus spot the hidden clues in the instructions that everyone
else missed?
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THE STAGE ONLINE
The set is crucial in Tim Firth’s
black comedy and designer Richard Foxton and the backstage team
at the Oldham Coliseum have triumphed with a realistic island
setting, crowned by a bank of trees, which descend into the auditorium.
Clever sound and lighting help to create an atmosphere of isolation
on the fog-wreathed sanctuary for the four central characters,
who struggle ashore when their corporate bonding exercise flounders.
Firth’s award-winning
work is truly an ensemble piece, which affords great opportunities
for the cast of four. James Nickerson beautifully underplays
as jovial and caring Neville, the captain of the team of Salford
businessmen from Pennine Water Limited. Parvez Qadir is the gimmick-obsessed
Angus, whose rucksack holds many a surprise and Martin Reeve
is the bullying Gordon with a temper to match his stubbornness.
Christopher Wright makes a fair stab at the challenging role
of Roy, whose soul-searching leads him on a journey with dark
consequences.
Unfortunately some great one-liners
were rather lost either through mumbling or a drop in pace, both
of which can be easily rectified. Certainly Kevin Shaw’s
production brought gales of appreciative laughter from those
in the audience unfamiliar with Firth’s hilarious text and
the change in tempo from comedy to near tragedy was clearly sign-posted.
Good though they were, it was
not the performances that made a mark but the superb writing
skills of Tim Firth which, coupled with Foxton’s imaginative
set, were at the forefront of this production.
Natalie Anglesey
- THE STAGE ONLINE
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