LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN

BY OSCAR WILDE

DIRECTED BY SHEILA WILSON

PRODUCTION DATES: WEDS 12th, THURS 13th, FRI 14, & SAT 15th November 2003 at 7.30pm

IN SHOREHAM VILLAGE HALL

Cast in order of appearance

Review:

LADY WINDERMERE’S FAN by Oscar Wilde

Shoreham Village Players

Village Hall

12-15 November 2003

Clive Woodward would say so. Sven-Goran Eriksson would certainly agree. Anyone

bidding for a championship or gold medal – or a rugby world cup – must have more

than one or two stars to call on.

To get results, a team needs outstanding performers in all positions.

No question that Shoreham Village Players have their full quota of Wilkinsons and

Beckhams able to command centre stage. But part of the delight of any production

by the Players is the calibre of the supporting characters. The teamwork and conc

entration of talent within this company never ceases to amaze, and it was supremely

evident yet again in their latest presentation.

True, in Lady Windermere’s Fan, the Players did have excellent material to work

with. But in the wrong hands, Oscar Wilde’s comedy of manners might easily come

across as stagey, dated or at best a little tired.

Not so here. Director Sheila Wilson and her team recaptured the magic that

captivated audiences in the gaslight era. In the Players’ hands, ‘Lady W’ was a joy,

as sparkling and invigorating as the iced champagne that Oscar himself was so

partial to.

The description ‘comedy’ tells only part of the story. For scenes that were richly

laced with Wilde’s witty aphorisms were in relief to deeper, darker passages where

the principals explored intense emotion and genuine pathos. And, for a play set in

Victorian times, the morality and messages it carried on what society expects of

women had a surprisingly modern resonance.

From first curtain to last, Elie Ball impressed as the fragrant yet tortured Lady

Windermere, locking horns with - and later won over by - the mysterious ‘Mrs

Erlynne’. This role had Lonnie Christophers revelling as the scarlet woman with half

of London society and (allegedly) most of its men at her feet.

Chris Abbott, in splendid Martita Hunt mode as the grand and gossipy Duchess of

Berwick, and Elizabeth Cannon as her put-upon daughter Agatha, created a

delightful and memorable pairing. As the story unfolded and with the ingredients of a

good scandal simmering nicely, the likes of plummy Lady Plymdale (Angela Hicks)

could always be relied upon to give the pot a good stir&ldots;

In the male lead James Wallace (Lord Windermere) was every inch the stolid

Victorian aristocrat, torn between a marriage to save and a secret to keep. An

equally strong performance from Bob Stevenson, wringing out every ounce of

emotion as the love-struck Lord Darlington.

Great credit, too, to the supporting cast of Ken Fowler, Martin Finch, Julien Faubert,

Jim Morse, Edward James, Joyce Meade, Jayne Boyle, Sheila Webb, Kenneth Hack

and Sue Pickering for their deftness of touch with Wilde’s witty and wordly script.

The sumptuous costumes and evocative sets, courtesy of the Players’ ever-reliable

backroom team, were the icing on a rich and appetising cake. Impeccably staged,

impressively acted, this was another memorable and winning performance from an

accomplished cast.

Lady Windermere may well have her Fan. On this showing, the Players have

undoubtedly secured some new ones of their own!

GC

 16 November 2003

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