This play, by Norman Robbins, a playwright and pantomime writer regarded by many as one of the most prolific and successful comedy writers, takes place in the 1970’s when morals and values were extremely different to those of today, especially those concerning betrothals, marriages and cohabitation.
The characters and events in the
play are fictitious and the action takes place in the living-room of the EarlyΚΌs terraced council house in Castleford
in Yorkshire. In the 1970s Castleford was a small mining district and writer, Robbins
lived there for over twenty years of his life, giving him ample time to observe
his neighbours.
The play is set in 1975 and as the
characters, Alice (Tracey Pocock) and Sam (Peter Cliffe) would have been married
in the mid-fifties, RADS have created a set reminiscent of that time; a well-deserved
round of applause goes to Nick and Sheila Broadhead for staging and props. The set is busy with living room furniture and
accoutrements and is constant throughout.
It is presented as the home of Mr and Mrs Early - floral wallpaper, popular
from the era, embellishes the walls and a window with the ever popular net
curtains prevalent at the time are present along with various ornaments and crockery
reminiscent of the period.
Costumes and make-up were all in
keeping with the 1970’s and credit must go for the attention to detail for
props and staging by all involved.
There's something for everyone in
the story, humour, drama, plus the underpinned love story of two young people, Terry
(Adam Tibke) and Susan (Neve Elena) who become entwined in their families
histories and squabbles.
The play highlights how in those
days, neighbours would pop into each other’s houses with easy familiarity, as
the houses were terraced and built extremely close together and front and back
doors would be left unlocked for easy access.
This made it easy for nosy neighbour Mabel (Fiona Podmore) to be on hand
to witness the goings on next door. Her sarcastic personality shines through as the interfering, nosey
parker who plays the final trump card and brings about the happy ending which lends
a tender aspect to the story.
The cast of eight, under the direction
of Liz Hardy, had a weighty script to learn and deliver especially the main characters,
Tracey Pocock and Peter Cliffe portraying Alice and Sam. I don’t want to give
away too much of the plot as it may spoil it for those planning on going to the
final performances, but whilst alive, harridan wife, Alice gives husband Sam a
dog’s life and he relishes her release once she has passed on. Tracey Pocock
and Peter Cliffe give worthy, believable performances.
All members of the cast are to be commended on sterling performances which result in a very enjoyable production. Paula Jones plays Lucy Rickworth, Steve Hughes plays Reuben Rickworth and Joey Jennings plays Joe Gittings. The players had an extra task in that they were challenged to perform in Yorkshire accents and usually dialect plays are not recommended for amateur productions but the RADS cast managed the Yorkshire dialect very efficiently.
Further performances are on16th May at 7.30 pm and Sunday, 17th May at 2.30
pm.
Further details here https://www.allertonurc.org.uk/dramatics.htm
and https://radsdrama.uk/
Reviewer – Anne Pritchard
On – 15th May 2026
