“the production could benefit from the addition of perhaps some small details to better signify a location change”
Finborough Theatre marks its building’s 150th anniversary with a selection of the best plays from 1868. The first of these is Henry J Byron’s Cyril’s Success, presented by Marooned Theatre and directed by Hannah Boland Moore. In this Victorian comedy drama we see playwright, Cyril Cuthbert, at the start of what appears to be a thriving career. However, it soon becomes apparent that his marriage may suffer as a result and his wife, Catherine, is not best pleased to learn he has not only forgotten their wedding anniversary, but that his heart may, in fact, have wandered astray.
There are some laugh out loud moments scattered throughout the production and, overall, the humour appears to be relevant for a modern audience. Much of this comes from Miss Grannet (Susan Tracy), the schoolteacher whose day-long marriage twenty two years earlier has left her bitter and with a loathing for husbands. Cyril’s friends Mr. Pincher and Titeboy, played by Stephen Rashbrook and Lewis Hart, prove an entertaining duo, with Hart’s jittery Titeboy producing numerous laughs. Isabella Marshall captures Cyril’s wife’s dismay in the face of her marriage predicaments well and gives an engaging performance throughout the play.
The intimate performance space above the Finborough Arms pub is used relatively well, with furniture and props in keeping with the Victorian era. The action of the play takes place in four locations, but there is nothing used to mark the changes of location within the set. The space is undeniably too small for numerous set changes, but the production could benefit from the addition of perhaps some small details to better signify a location change. In this way, the set has a lot of potential and it would be interesting to see what could be done in a larger space.
Last performed to London audiences 127 years ago, Cyril’s Success is a humorous play that may lead you to wonder what other period pieces are waiting to be rediscovered.
“strong production, with the cast doing a solid job at bringing Darke’s work to life”
The sound of seagulls, piles of deadwood, and the genuine smell of fish, help to turn a London pub theatre into a scene of our British coastline. The Cornish coastline to be precise. Booby’s Bay is the first full-length play by playwright Henry Darke and it’s all set within his home county. Darke uses a world that he clearly knows and cares about to create an impassioned, wistful, yet comic tale that efficiently shifts between laughter and tears.
The holiday season is imminent, and so the residents of Booby’s Bay are preparing themselves for the tidal wave of tourists that are coming. Most residents are accepting and appreciative for the influx of people making their way to the remote, picturesque cove, but Huck isn’t having it. He is taking a political stand. Huck, a local former fisherman, is squatting in the empty second home of a city slicker who uses it for only a few weeks of the year. Holiday homes such as this scatter the coast of Booby’s Bay, contributing, Huck believes, to a housing crisis for Cornish natives. As his mother, friends and ex-girlfriend slowly get exasperated with him, it becomes apparent it could be the torment of certain traumatic events from the past that is spurring Huck’s headstrong behaviour. With a world-famous surfing competition taking place along the beach, bringing in hoards of people, it looks like Huck is fighting a losing battle.
Oliver Bennett gives a confident performance as Huck, shifting between his infuriating stubbornness and emotional fragility with ease. Joseph Chance and Florence Roberts show versatility and prowess with their acting chops, having to multi-role a couple of characters each. Esther Coles provides lighter relief as Huck’s kooky, fun-loving mother, Liz, however, it is Bradley Taylor as Huck’s macho mate Daz that really is the shining light in this production. Starting as the jocular jock, full of bravado, we see these outer layers of armour gradually stripped back to discover a much rawer soul, coming to the forefront when Daz and Huck are embroiled in a heated altercation at the climax of the play.
Booby’s Bay is a generous ensemble piece; giving time to unfold the stories of each resident we meet from the seaside town. Director Chris White chose to include abstract transitions between scenes, where the cast skilfully sing broken parts of sea shanties and pop songs, initially proving a compelling shift from the naturalistic style of the bulk of the play. However, the transitions soon turn into strange and awkward to watch movement pieces that linger on longer than necessary. Nevertheless, this is a strong production, with the cast doing a solid job at bringing Darke’s work to life. It is refreshing to theatrically hear about the lives from a corner of the country that does not get noted enough.
