THE BELLE OF BONAVISTA BAY till 8 April

Poole and Touring

The Belle of Bonavista Bay
by Philip Goulding
Forest Forge Theatre Company presents

Tours to 8 April 2004
Runs 1hr 50 mins one interval
Review Hazel Brown 8 March 2004 at Lighthouse, Poole

Intriguing weave of past and present from Poole to Newfoundland
It came as news to me that there are strong connections between Poole and Newfoundland and this play weaves two intriguing stories of a past migration from Poole to Bonavista Bay and the return of Daniela, a Canadian, to Poole to find her roots.

Not only are the two stories interwoven, but they are interspersed with folk songs and sea shanties performed by the cast of four with guitar, penny whistle and bodhran. Daniela, an earnest and fast talking Canadian, who is an interesting mixture of gauche shyness and self-knowing boldness, is giving a talk to the local WI about her grandmother, who traveled from Poole to Trinity in the nineteenth century. We then dip into the grandmother's story and through a series of flashbacks, also learn of Daniela's time in England leading up to the talk.

Amanda Maud is forthright and funny as Daniela and James Morley is gentle and shy as the Dorset farmer she meets. Morag Brownlie and Mark Carlisle don and doff small pieces of costume to become not only the characters from the past, but, also members of the Out of a Suitcase Theatre Company. Daniela is initially delighted when Samantha and Hugh decide to take the story and improvise a play out of it, but is furious at the way they want to fill in the gaps in the story. This is the central theme of the play, how history, our connections to it and our perception of it, shapes our lives.

On the whole an enjoyable piece of theatre, with songs and music to keep the pace upbeat.

CAST
Amanda Maud: Daniela
James Morley: Noel
Morag Brownlie: Samantha/Eliza Gilbert
Mark Carlisle: Marcus/Joseph Etheridge the elder/Joseph Etheridge the Younger/Captain Gilbert/Hugh

Director: Sean Aita
Designer: David Haworth

2004-03-16 16:08:47