| FOR their latest production,
Willy Russell's Educating Rita at Faringdon Junior School in November, the
Faringdon Dramatic Society has once again proved that it is not afraid of
tack-ling a difficult play. This is a wordy piece containing both humour and
pathos, and as a two-hander places great responsibility on the actors
concerned. They certainly rose to the challenge with great bravura, and they
maintained their characters and the pace brilliantly throughout, for which
the audience showed their appreciation. The
plot concerns Frank (played by Simon Wisbey), a university tutor and failed
poet, world weary, cynical, unhappily married, and with a growing dependence
on whiskey to keep himself going. |
Into his life bursts
Rita (Lesley Phillips), a young hairdresser with no formal qualifications, but
hungry to find some meaning in life. She has embarked on an Open University
course with Frank as her tutor. The play was ably directed by Rachel Coward and
Rob Thorpe, and the set was very well detailed as a university study. It was
perhaps a drawback that the desk was positioned upstage since most of the action
took place around it. Consequently, for those at the rear, the dialogue was at
times barely audible. Maybe this problem arose because of the poor acoustics of
the hall, or from a lack of projection by the actors. Whatever, it is something
to be watched for in the future.
Jeanette Grace |
