The Birthday Party
Talents in a Mixed Bag
Celebrating their seventh anniversary, Theatre Workshop Coulsdon presented a “Birthday Party” revue at the Coulsdon Youth Centre.
The programme was varied, including music, dancing and playlets.
This young group are enthusiastic, energetic and very talented, and if the evening’s entertainment was only partially successful, this was because it was a mixed bag of sometimes mediocre material.
“Dead on Time” depicted a railway carriage, with three occupants travelling on the last train. I missed most of the dialogue because of garbled delivery, so I lost the point of this tale, but the sound effects were good.
Next was Pinter’s “Trouble in the Works,” a short sketch, well acted by the two players concerned.
A group of dancers had the next spot, and although the routine was fairly basic, they kept good time to the music. This was followed by three guitar players whose skill and rhythm had the audience tapping their feet.
A playlet called “Jubilee Year” provided a satirical look at local government. Well rehearsed, it had good characterisation by all the performers.
The second half began with a type of verbal musical chairs (without the music) which although well executed was poor material.
“The Travel Agents,” a short sketch dealing with the conning of the holiday maker in search of the sun was clever but too brief to make any real impact.
The highlight of the evening for me at least, was a melodrama, “The Wages of Sin,” in which a cast of four were first class, giving well studied portraits and attacking their roles with the necessary deadpan attitude that never faltered, while injecting sparkle and a sense of fun to the occasion.
All in all, this group should set their sights higher.
Cast Details:
The Players
Jane Andrews
The Players
Tim Andrews
The Players
Bob Baker
The Players
Terry Cockell
The Players
Marina Foxlee
The Players
Maureen Hoy
The Players
Robin Hunt
The Players
Clare Loosemore
The Players
Hazel Moar
The Players
Cliff Palmer
The Players
Loraine Perera
The Players
Jonathan Summers
The Players
Liz Sutton
The Players
Rosemary Swinscoe
The Players
Stephen Swinscoe
The Players
Gary Turner
The Players
Ollie Turner
The Players
Keith Walton
The Players
Marc Weston
The Players
Tim Young
The Others
Chris Argles
The Others
Chris Garrett