ON GOLDEN POND. To 23 June.

Newcastle-under-Lyme

ON GOLDEN POND
by Ernest Thompson

New Vic Theatre, Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffordshire To 23 June 2007
Mon-Sat 7.30pm Mat 23 Jyune 2.30pm no performance6, 13, 18 June
Audio-described 20 June
Captioned 19 June
Post-show discussion 19 June
Runs 2hr 30min One Interval

TICKETS: 01782 717962
www.newvictheatre.org.uk
Ranjit Khutan: 1 June 2007

A sweet, engaging and emotional play.
It’s been over 25 years since the film version hit our screens, but this well known and loved classic still packs an emotional punch.

The setting is the Thayers' vacation retreat – a small house on Golden Pond. Norman is the first to enter the dust-sheet covered living room. The phone rings and he grumpily suggests that at least this shows it works….or at least he thinks it does. He finds it difficult to remember many things lately and is obsessed with death, but his wife Ethel is full of life, hope and is doing her hardest to help him remember the good times – times before they were ‘at the far edge of middle age.’ This is aided by the arrival of Billy Ray Jr, which also helps to bridge the emotional gulf between Norman and his daughter Chelsea.

Roy Sampson’s Norman is grumpy, impatient and, at times, downright rude. But there’s more to Norman; under the façade he’s a confused and scared person. He is displaying the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease. Sampson expertly brings this to the surface through his focussed and sensitive portrayal of this disabling condition.

Tina Gray’s Ethel is warm, positive and a great contrast to Norman, providing him with much needed reassurance and security. She effortlessly copes with the emotional turmoil caused by Norman’s deteriorating health, and in doing so highlights a poignant picture of married life portrayed in Thompson’s script. The play is also supported by excellent acting from McCellan’s Charlie, Beatrice Comins’s Chelsea, Keith Woodason’s Billy Ray and Morgan Eglin/Jack Spencer’s Billy Ray Junior

Chris Monks’s production responds wholeheartedly to the many themes that run throughout this beautifully structured play. The ending contains one more dramatic and punch that will leave you with goosebumps.

Chelsea Thayer Wayne: Beatrice Comins
Ethel Thayer: Tina Gray
Charlie Martin: Rowe David McCelland
Norman Thayer: Roy Sampson
Billy Ray: Keith Woodason
Billy Ray Jr: Morgan Eglin/Jack Spencer

Director: Chris Monks
Designer: Ellen Cairns
Lighting: Daniella Beattie
Sound: James Earls-Davis
Voice coach: Mark Langley

2007-06-07 00:39:21