SNAKE IN THE GRASS. To 17 October.
Pitlochry.
SNAKE IN THE GRASS
by Alan Ayckbourn.
Pitlochry Festival Theatre In rep to 17 October 2007.
Mon-Sat 8pm Mat 29 Aug, 8, 20, 29 Sept, 17 Oct 2pm.
Audio-described please enquire when booking.
Runs 2hr One interval.
TICKETS: 01795 484626.
www.pitlochry.org.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 23 August.
Laughter and terror in a vivid revival.
Alan Ayckbourn's play is an untypical piece from Scarborough's play-master, in its small, all-woman cast of three. And while there are laughs along the way, this is far more a spooky experience than a characterfully humorous one. Most laughs come from shock or relief.
For once, a big set is helpful in a play written to be performed in the round. The garden of Adrian Rees's set is luxuriant, but its overhanging foliage provides a sinister, enclosed feel as Ace McCarron's lighting has night progressively fall in keeping with the darkening action, while the decaying summerhouse timbers, uneven steps and torn tennis-court netting reflect the emotional states of sisters Annabel and Miriam.
Initially, Carol Ann Crawford's smart Annabel, back from Tasmania, brims with confidence, while Jacqueline Dutoit's stay-at-home Miriam is a shabby wreck. But Annabel's life, career and health aren't all they seem, while Miriam's neurosis keeps showing new angles.
Motoring a plot that hastens as it thickens, with shock moments and passages of sustained tension, is their father's recent death and a blackmail threat from his nurse, Alice. Thriller aficionados will find later stages familiar, but it's not easy to write too many twists (arguably the play has a couple too many) without turning down familiar directions. And Ayckbourn wins over many thriller-writers in the steady development of the sisters' relationship which, most of the time, drives the tension more than overt plot developments.
If the performances of Crawford and Dutoit have an actorish tinge, it's a minor fault (and what seems slightly contrived from row F might appear utterly right further back). By all standards other than the highest they're fine. These two hold the stage for sustained stretches, Dutoit's haggard-looking Miriam becoming frighteningly compulsive while remaining plausible. Watching her is like being with someone you know is probably a maniac but can give everything they do a rational explanation.
Lorna McDevitt's Alice is perfectly played, with exactly the right amount of insolence, making sudden illness frighteningly convincing. This Snake in the Grass hisses along with a venomous perfection, becoming a feather in the cap for artistic director John Durnin.
Annabel Chester: Carol Ann Crawford.
Alice Moody: Lorna McDevitt.
Miriam Chester: Jacqueline Dutoit.
Director: John Durnin.
Designer: Adrian Rees.
Lighting: Ace McCarron.
Sound: Ronnie McConnell.
Costume: Anya Glinski
Fight director: Raymond Short.
2007-08-24 16:25:49