Darling Mr London - St Ann’s Players

St Ann’s Players first production in their newly refurbished church hall was the intricate farce Darling Mr London by Anthony Marriott and Bob Grant.

The stage set was perfect. It had so many doors I was left wondering how on earth the cast managed to remember which way to turn! Ian Mansfield directed this fast-paced farce, which had the audience laughing long and loud.

It was set in the 1970‘s home of Edward Hawkins and was full of over-the-top characters, absurd situations and mistaken identities.

The characters arrive at the home of Edward Hawkins, played by Neil Bamford who impressed, keeping the manic momentum of the play throughout. The plot revolves around the arrival of the Miss Europhone contestants looking for their darling Mr. London. Edward valiantly tries to hide them and the truth from his wife Rose, played by the experienced Judith Mansfield. Throw in a curate Dave Stopford, who thinks the pompous brother-in-law Tim Keiley is a secret drinker, who in turn thinks the curate is a secret drinker, lock the mother-in-law, Barbara Fielden, in the loo and you have a recipe for disaster and laughter.

The production threw up some impressive performances from the Miss Europhone contestants, with Joanne Frost as Monique, Sue Howarth as Sylvana, Annette Nodwell as Ingrid and Christine Simpson as Snowdrop.

It was a very enjoyable evening and proved a fitting tribute to the memory of relatively young, local actor, Andy McKay, who had entertained audiences locally in numerous productions; a very funny and talented man who will be sadly missed by many.

February 2010