Party-time at Cayman Drama Society
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from April 1994.
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The play is quite well known, according to producer/director Jacqueline Caunt, especially since its presentation on British television.
The setting is London in the 1970s, but the situation from which the story line evolves could take place anywhere. A married couple (Sue Horrocks and Chris Mann) invites neighbours over for drinks: two are a married couple recently moved in (Kate Bowring and John Oliver); the third is a divorced mother of a precocious teen-aged daughter (Valerie Cottier).
The play is a dark comedy commentary on how these people interact -- or more precisely, how they fail to. As the evening progresses, strained marital relationships become more apparent, while the supposed bonds of friendship are challenged.
As universal as such ideas may be, playwright Mike Leigh based his script on an improvisation performed in London in the 70s, so there are references that may not be significant to non-London audiences. But music is a more important part of the play's mood and CDS has gone to some length obtaining the sound tracks specified. The music emanates from two sources -- the party on stage in Sue and Chris' home, and Abigail's party taking place down the street.
Such social gatherings in the 1970s were apparently characterised by heavy drinking and smoking. Unfortunately for this reporter, the realism at technical rehearsal on Tuesday extended to frequent and expansive exhalations of cigarette and cigar smoke by no fewer than four persons on stage plus one crew member in the audience. By the end of act one I was physically nauseated and had to leave.
I would genuinely have liked to stay for the second act, if only to find out if Sue Horrocks' character really is as grating as she starts out. to be, whether she and her husband are really as incompatible as they seem, and whether Valerie Cottier ever asserts her parental authority.
It may be that the a/c was on minimum setting for the rehearsal.
Certainly my photography duties required me to be close to the stage. Perhaps once the a/c is cranked up for a full audience, the tobacco fumes will not be noticeable in the seating area. I would be sorry if this detail interfered with anyone's enjoyment of what look like some good performances.
