Over the years, Scribbles has had the privilege of attending many live plays put on by our talented friends at Dunnville Community Theatre (DCT). DCT is putting on a new production in June (Hilda's Yard), so we are reposting reviews from some of our favourite past productions.
Today we go back to 2013 with DCT's stellar production of 'Private Lives'.
Even
at the best of times, DCT works with limited funds and a bare-bones stage.
Their recent production of Noel Coward’s Private Lives found the small
close-knit theatre group dealing with an even greater deficit.
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| PLAYBILL WITH CAST -PIX COURTESY DCT |
Their
theatre is located within the Dunnville Optimist’s Club, which is currently
undergoing major renovations. As a result, Private Lives would be presented in
an entirely different room and using a temporary make-shift stage.
Recipe
for disaster? Maybe to some, but not when you’re the hardworking guys and gals
of the Dunnville Community Theatre. Using minimal props, we were instantly transported to Europe.
“It
is the late 1920s and divorcees Elyot and Amanda are honeymooning in the same
French hotel with their new spouses Sibyl and Victor.
Inevitably
they meet –they are, after all, staying in rooms with adjoining balconies –and so
begins "one of the most famous high-comedies ever written” [quote courtesy DCT’s Private Lives Playbill.]
Returning
to the DCT stage were four veteran DCT actors. [Michael Maloney, Diane Morris, Lee Smith & Shayna Maloney] Although their faces were familiar
to those who attend DCT plays on a regular basis, their versatility breathed
new life and believability into the characters they portrayed this time around. Meanwhile, Candace Stern (“Amanda”) made her DCT acting debut in the show.
With
act one completed, it was time for a set change. With no curtain to hide what
is usually done behind the scenes, during intermission the audience got to see
the stage transformed to a flat in Paris, right before their eyes.
This
was something the play’s director Nancy Erskine [left] was not entirely comfortable
with, telling Scribbles that they had tried to come up with alternative ideas,
such as maybe a second stage in a another part of the room, but this would mean
the audience would need to get up and turn their chairs to view act two and
three, something that would be disruptive and probably not very well-received.
Not
everyone was dissatisfied with the set change being highly visible. My sister
Jane Storie, who had joined me for the show, said she found it interesting to
get to see the activity which is usually hidden behind the curtain. I guess it’s all a
matter of perspective.
With
a subtle, but amusing conclusion (with the divorcees reuniting and quietly leaving
their new spouses bickering amongst themselves) DCT’s presentation of Noel
Coward’s Private Lives drew to a close, receiving loud approving applause from
the full capacity audience and the promise of a beaming review from Scribbles.
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