Perfect Pitch: John Godber: Haymarket, Basingstoke to 28th June 2003
Basingstoke
Perfect Pitch
by John Godber
The Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke, 13th June 2003 to 28th June 2003
Mons Sats 7.45 pm;
Matinees: 19 & 28 June at 2pm;
Runs 2 hours 20 minutes: One Interval
Tickets 01256 465566: www.haymarket.org.uk
Review Mark Courtice: 17th June 2003
Static production even if the caravans aren't
Perfect Pitch was written in 1998. It seems much older than that. Indeed this is a really old fashioned evening; the assumptions, the story and the presentation feel like something from the mid eighties.
Yvonne and Ron are celebrating with a first trip in the new caravan bought with his pay off after retiring from teaching with stress. Grant and Steph turn up on the pitch next door in their well worn caravan. Soon class warfare is breaking out along the sexual and cultural fronts as they share nights out, going out to a male strip show and taking part in the site talent show.
Everything is reduced to the most obvious, with Yvonne keen on Gilbert and Sullivan and Classical Chill Out, while Grant and Steph disturb the cliff top calm with noisy sex in their bouncing caravan.
The cartoon view of the world is also reflected in the ideas here; although there are sections that are intended to be funny, there are also shafts aimed at the difference between the cushioned retirement of a stress ridden teacher, and those (like Grant) who lost out after the dissolution of the mines in the 1980s.
The show is written like a moving version of the cartoon strip, with 15 short scenes in the first act, each making a quick punch point and then blackout. In this production the gap between these is too long.
The production also echoes Godber's instinctive reach for the obvious with Grant appearing in dirty T shirt and scratching his bottom, Eileen wears pink all over (even down to her knickers) and Ron (of course) has sandals and socks and long shorts.
In production terms this piece lacks the light touch that would make this a jolly summer romp, the last scenes taking on a stolid feel of a try at social realism, while physically, once they arrive the caravans remain static as does everything else, making the long scene breaks even more unnecessary.
The actors try their best with the cartoon dialogue but never really engage (and therefore interest) us.
Ron: Robert Angell
Yvonne: Gilly Cohen
Grant: Andy Williams
Steph: Michelle Chadwick
Director: Kate Bramley
Design: Elroy Ashmore
Lighting Design: Simon Freakley
2003-06-19 09:22:25