The Real Inspector Hound
By Tom Stoppard
Red Peppers Review
By Noël Coward6–14 July 2012
By Tom Stoppard
Red Peppers Review
By Noël Coward6–14 July 2012
Two very different offerings were on the bill at the Stables Theatre last week, in a double bill of one-act plays, directed by Tony Holtham. read more
The second piece, Red Peppers, was a Noël Coward nostalgia trip to the days of variety theatre. In that era, before the endless servings of “how the show was made” to which we have become grimly accustomed on the small screen, it was a novelty to take a trip back stage to a second-rate theatre, peeking behind the glitz and glamour to its seedy, tension-ridden intestines. This was a show which required singers and dancers to bring it fully to life. We have actors—so was this piece the best choice? However, the music was a chance for some of us proudly to show our age and sing along with the Red Peppers and the Debonairs—with some nice comic touches. In between, Fiona Batey and Bill Allender as the eponymous leading couple harped and sniped at each other in sandpapery style, then touchingly closed ranks when confronted by their joint enemies, musician Bert (Rick Baker) and the manager (Joe Sykes).
The Real Inspector Hound is Tom Stoppard’s version of an Escher picture. On one side are the critics, seedy lecher Birdboot (Bill Allender) and fantasist Moon (Philip Blurton), who is floundering in a morass of disappointed ambition. Their disjointed interactions were delivered with accomplished aplomb, whilst the whodunnit they are being paid to critique is failing to grasp their attention: this was played out before us in a gorgeously wooden yet overblown fashion.
Katy Worobec (Mrs Drudge, the help) was a hoot, delivering the most ridiculous stage directions, supposedly over the telephone, in perfect dead pan. Alastair Devaux as Simon Gascoyne interloped furtively throughout; dramatic poses from Charlotte Eastes as Felicity and Jackie Eichler as Cynthia ensured that we were in no doubt as to the quality of play. Cynthia’s card play was spot on—the tea-service was hilariously stilted—and as for Magnus’ (Joe Sykes) wheelchair entrance—a pleasure with which the health and safety committee had nothing to do!
Thanks to the sound technicians (Andy Bissenden and Tom Brown), the sound effects were excellent—a farce cannot be funny without perfect timing of bells, radios, and sounds of wheelchairs descending the stairs. Higgs (Fiona Batey) deserves a mention for maintaining her pose—dead—throughout all of the, equally and purposely, wooden movements of the cast and chaise longue. And Rick Baker as the inspector added a lively panto touch to the proceedings, until mysteriously disappearing and leaving the floor open for the surreal end of the play: critics entering into the action and their fantasies taking over—all very clever, bizarre, entertaining, lots of laughs and so nearly plausible.
Margaret Blurton
The Real Inspector Hound is Tom Stoppard’s version of an Escher picture. On one side are the critics, seedy lecher Birdboot (Bill Allender) and fantasist Moon (Philip Blurton), who is floundering in a morass of disappointed ambition. Their disjointed interactions were delivered with accomplished aplomb, whilst the whodunnit they are being paid to critique is failing to grasp their attention: this was played out before us in a gorgeously wooden yet overblown fashion.
Katy Worobec (Mrs Drudge, the help) was a hoot, delivering the most ridiculous stage directions, supposedly over the telephone, in perfect dead pan. Alastair Devaux as Simon Gascoyne interloped furtively throughout; dramatic poses from Charlotte Eastes as Felicity and Jackie Eichler as Cynthia ensured that we were in no doubt as to the quality of play. Cynthia’s card play was spot on—the tea-service was hilariously stilted—and as for Magnus’ (Joe Sykes) wheelchair entrance—a pleasure with which the health and safety committee had nothing to do!
Thanks to the sound technicians (Andy Bissenden and Tom Brown), the sound effects were excellent—a farce cannot be funny without perfect timing of bells, radios, and sounds of wheelchairs descending the stairs. Higgs (Fiona Batey) deserves a mention for maintaining her pose—dead—throughout all of the, equally and purposely, wooden movements of the cast and chaise longue. And Rick Baker as the inspector added a lively panto touch to the proceedings, until mysteriously disappearing and leaving the floor open for the surreal end of the play: critics entering into the action and their fantasies taking over—all very clever, bizarre, entertaining, lots of laughs and so nearly plausible.
Margaret Blurton
A Stables Theatre production
Director: Tony Holtham
Cast: Bill Allender, Rick Baker, Fiona Batey, Philip Blurton, Alastair Devaux, Charlotte Eastes, Jackie Eichler, Mike Jossey, Joe Sykes, Katy Worobec
Director: Tony Holtham
Cast: Bill Allender, Rick Baker, Fiona Batey, Philip Blurton, Alastair Devaux, Charlotte Eastes, Jackie Eichler, Mike Jossey, Joe Sykes, Katy Worobec
A selection of photographs of Stables Theatre productions is available on our photographer Peter Mould’s website.
www.artypharty.com
www.artypharty.com
Entertaining Angels by Richard Everett (10–18 February)
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (9–17 March)
Bedroom Farce by Alan Ayckbourn (13–21 April)
The Winslow Boy by Terence Rattigan (11–19 May)
The Real Inspector Hound and Red Peppers by Tom Stoppard and Noël Coward (6–14 July)
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare (25–28 July)
The 39 Steps by John Buchan, Alfred Hitchcock and Patrick Barlow (13–18 August)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare (5–8 September)
Mine by Polly Teale (21–29 September)
Cranford adapted by Martyn Coleman, from the stories by Mrs Gaskell (19–27 October)
Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo and Gavin Richards (16–24 November)
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and John Mortimer (14–29 December)
2012 season review
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (9–17 March)
Bedroom Farce by Alan Ayckbourn (13–21 April)
The Winslow Boy by Terence Rattigan (11–19 May)
The Real Inspector Hound and Red Peppers by Tom Stoppard and Noël Coward (6–14 July)
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare (25–28 July)
The 39 Steps by John Buchan, Alfred Hitchcock and Patrick Barlow (13–18 August)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare (5–8 September)
Mine by Polly Teale (21–29 September)
Cranford adapted by Martyn Coleman, from the stories by Mrs Gaskell (19–27 October)
Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo and Gavin Richards (16–24 November)
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and John Mortimer (14–29 December)
2012 season review
