★★★★

“Liz Elvin doesn’t give us theatrical fireworks, but something much more subtle and involving”

What has been described as ‘the biggest miscarriage of justice in British legal history’ is the focus of this interesting new play by Zannah Kearns. It is drawn from Nick Wallis’ seminal 2021 exposé of the Post Office Horizon scandal. It tells the story up to 2019, when after a joint legal action, over 500 Postmasters and Postmistresses were granted a settlement of £58 million.

The play was commissioned by the University of Reading and was developed with help from their Law Department. It is performed by Reading’s RABBLE Theatre which has a special remit to ‘tell local stories of national significance’. Playwright Kearns based her story on her interviews with one Post Mistress called Pam Stubbs who modestly says she ‘got really cross’ when she first noticed false transactions on the screen of the branch she was running from a Portakabin near Reading.

A cast of four include seasoned performer Elizabeth Elvin as Pam Stubbs. Stubbs was unique amongst the other litigants in that she kept meticulous records which enabled the Horizon system to be directly challenged. Liz Elvin doesn’t give us theatrical fireworks, but something much more subtle and involving. We see a mild-mannered woman who is genuinely puzzled by the total and catastrophic upending of her life because the Post Office stubbornly refused to admit their software was faulty.

Laura Penneycard, Sabina Netherclift and Fayez Baksh deftly take multiple roles as customers, shop assistant, barrister, judge and other litigants. The play is performed in a ‘black box’ space for which Caitlin Abbott has designed a set of wheeled units which are moved around by the cast.

From ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ to TV’s ‘Crown Court’, court room scenes are bread and butter drama. ‘Glitch’ features some gripping moments drawn directly from the legal transcript. For me, some of the other writing and direction by Gemma Colcough and Gareth Taylor still has a somewhat sketchy quality about it. I wanted a little more drama and less understatement, even if some of it (say) came in the form of techniques like projected graphics.

The founders of RABBLE describe this show as ‘stage one’ for the piece. They hope that with more financial support it will evolve more fully. This worthwhile and involving play certainly deserves a much wider showing.

CALENDAR GIRLS at the The Mill at Sonning

★★★★

“Innocently raunchy and with a feelgood factor as comforting as home-made plum jam”

‘We’re not naked… we are nude!’. This distinction is a playful leitmotif that runs through the charmingly English comedy-drama, “Calendar Girls”. That the debate can follow seamlessly from a discussion on the history of broccoli, or sit comfortably next to the stoical last words of a dying cancer patient, is testament to Tim Firth’s writing. Based on a true story that caught the world’s attention in 1998, the film release in 2003 was a global hit too; inevitably followed by the stage version which made its way to the West End. Sally Hughes’ revival at The Mill at Sonning is faithful to every note and nuance of the original, retaining the fine balance of humour and sadness without giving in to schmaltz or slapstick.

The story chronicles a group of women, members of the WI in a Yorkshire village. Following the death of Annie’s (Natalie Ogle) husband John (Andrew Ryan), the ladies decide to buy a new sofa for the hospital that treated John during his last days using the proceeds from their yearly calendar. Desperate to find a way of increasing its sales they hit on the idea of spicing up its subject matter by photographing themselves performing typical WI activities (baking, gardening, playing the piano, knitting… and so on) but naked (sorry – nude!).

We are in an authentically rural landscape peopled by down to earth, self-mocking Yorkshire folk that Hughes’ cast present as the real thing. The scenes follow the months and seasons over a year. From the women’s initial resistance to stripping off, then relishing the idea, through to milking it for all its worth and ultimately providing a far grander memorial to John than they could ever imagine. Of course, along the way we witness the personal confrontations and mini dramas of these individuals as they grapple with their fears and desires.

“Kitty Harris and Dawn Perllman compliment the company with dual roles, adding further light and shade to an already dynamic production that gently gnaws at our emotions”

Imperious and snobbish Marie (a delightful Elizabeth Elvin) leads (or rather tries to lead) the ramshackle, sometimes subversive group of women. Debbie Arnold’s sassy Cora conceals her own insecurities behind rebellious, bluesy piano chords while Basienka Blake’s Celia wears hers as openly as her sex appeal and glamour. Natalie Ogle, as Annie, convincingly captures the emotions of a woman recently bereaved, clashing and reconciling with Rachel Fielding’s Chris – the ambitious matriarch who’s hard coating shields a heart of gold. Sarah Whitlock, as Jessie, has some of the juiciest lines, matched by Ciara Janson’s initially timid Ruth who ripens into a sauciness that equals the others’ gaiety and glee at baring all (well – nearly all).

Only have half of the year’s months are captured on camera for the calendar, which shortens the pivotal scene in which the women find ingenious ways of preserving their modesty when shell-shocked amateur (a hilarious Oscar Cleaver who doubles as cocksure TV lackey Liam) is roped in as official photographer. In fact, we mustn’t forget the men in this piece, who do in fact carry much of the emotional burden on their shoulders. Steven Pinder, as Chris’ neglected husband Rod, holds a fragile and tipsy veneer over his own lonely struggles while Andrew Ryan’s John short-lived role captures the sad deterioration of the cancer victim with a vulnerable strength.

Kitty Harris and Dawn Perllman compliment the company with dual roles, adding further light and shade to an already dynamic production that gently gnaws at our emotions. It paws rather than hits. We purr rather than laugh out loud and our eyes glass over rather than shed tears. There is a reserve that is quintessentially British and that is utterly fitting for this interpretation. Innocently raunchy and with a feelgood factor as comforting as home-made plum jam. A heart-warming tale of people coming together, layered with humour and topped with a creamy layer of poignancy.

GLITCH at the Minghella Theatre

★★★★

“Liz Elvin doesn’t give us theatrical fireworks, but something much more subtle and involving”

GLITCH at the Minghella Theatre

Reviewed on 2nd July 2024

by David Woodward

Photography by Annabel Crichard

Recommended Show reviews from June:

GLITCH

GLITCH

CALENDAR GIRLS at the The Mill at Sonning

★★★★

“Innocently raunchy and with a feelgood factor as comforting as home-made plum jam”

“Kitty Harris and Dawn Perllman compliment the company with dual roles, adding further light and shade to an already dynamic production that gently gnaws at our emotions”

CALENDAR GIRLS at the Mill at Sonning

Reviewed on 20th April 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Andreas Lambis

Previously reviewed at this venue:

CALENDAR GIRLS

CALENDAR GIRLS