THE GRIZZLED SKIPPER. To 7 April.

Southampton

THE GRIZZLED SKIPPER
by Maggie Nevill

Nuffield Theatre To 7 April 2007
Mon-Sat 7.30pm Mat Sat 3pm
Audio-described/BSL Signed 7 April 3pm
Runs 2hr 20min One interval

TICKETS: 023 8067 1771
www.nuffieldtheatre.co.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 2 April

New play bobs along nicely once it’s afloat.
And now for dessert. Following the iron rations of Deborah Gearing’s The Cage, the Nuffield double of new plays by members of its writers’ group briefly presents Maggie Nevill’s serious comedy. More colourful and sympathetic in style, it has points to make about freedom and choice, while reflecting on the way generations see each other.

Hannah, 15, is pregnant. Equally underage boyfriend Charlie responds with naïve and unexpected delight. It’s when parents, with their distrust of each other and threatened expectations for their children, become involved that matters grow complex. So, after a recce of council tower-blocks, which prove no place to bring up a child, the parents-to-be seek a lift to Manchester with a narrowboat captain they’ve chanced on down by the canal-side.

A Grizzled Skipper is a type of butterfly, but this trio go nowhere fast. Still, it’s at this midpoint, where Charlie shows his practical hand, that the play really makes progress. Their parents (plus a grandparent convinced the skipper’s a terrorist) are soon speeding after the youngsters on mopeds. Under the force of the Captain’s arguments parental barriers slowly dissolve, culminating in an improvised marriage that’s the high-spot of Nevill’s script.

After it, she doesn’t quite resolve how to deal with the points still to be made, resorting to the old device of soliloquy to earth the Captain’s soaring idealism on behalf of youth. But the gap between this and his embittered personal experience emphasises the age-old hope things might be better next time round.

Francis Magee’s Captain is a strong anchor throughout, skilfully shaping humour and emotion, disguising (till one of the women wearily points it out) that he’s the typical middle-age man seeking his freedom, in however atypical a manner. Lizzy Watts is lively and lovely as the young Juliet, while Matt Carpenter stands out as her Romeo, gradually finding his place and vocation in the world.

Nevill scores several one-line comic hits, which Patrick Sandford’s cast often treat aptly as throwaways. Though the adults are more prosaically-drawn, the play scores in its portrayal of hopeful youth and the philosophy of its sad Captain.

Hannah: Lizzy Watts
Charlie: Matt Carpenter
The Captain: Francis Magee
Ann: Julia Righton
Eileen: Patricia England
Linda: Claire Wilkie
Mike: Simon Muller
with Daniel O’Neill, Ben Worth, Chris Mayo, Adam Skeats

Director: Patrick Sandford
Designer: Fabrice Serafino
Lighting: David W Kidd
Sound: Daniel Paine

2007-04-03 08:22:47