AMATEUR THEATRE REVIEW: Veronica's Room - The Lyceum Theatre, Oldham.

It is the 1970s, and we are in Boston, Massachusetts. As always with Oldham's Lyceum Theatre, much thought and detail had gone into the set design, and here was a bed-sitting room whose decor hadn't changed since 1935. It was sparse and simple, and for a change, the Lyceum's stage looked roomy. The only thing which didn't sit well with me was a single chair and occasional table positioned centre stage and pointing to... well, no-one knows. The window was behind them on one side, the door to the room on the other, and no-one would have a seat in the centre of the room unless they were looking at something (in modern houses it would be the TV....!)

The play started a little weakly this evening, it was the opening night of the production, and so some consideration needed to be given for the actors to find their feet and get in to their stride so to speak; however, once they had, then this mystery thriller from the pen of Ira Levin, was nicely crafted and sensibly performed. 

Lois Kelly and Colin Smith worked nicely together as the aging pair John and Maureen Lackey ostensibly wanting only to do the best for their 'family'. Their tasks made all the more difficult in the fact that their accents needed to change from Irish-American to Boston (or at least general US) without so much as a hesitation or cross-over, and this isn't easy when the other two cast members in the play are both American throughout (Boston and Ohio). Kelly and Smith worked well together to create a sincere and then quite creepy pair. I don't want to reveal too much about them as there are many twists in the story. Likewise, the younger couple who become embroiled in their schemes have a couple of surprises up their sleeves too. They are Alison Mitchell as Susan, the girl who is seemingly picked by chance because of her striking resemblance to Veronica, sister of the senile Cissie still residing at the Mackays, and the young man Larry, she was with (boyfriend would not be the right term here), played by Nathan Simpson. Again, their demeanour and attitudes fitting in nicely with the growing and confusing plot. 

It's a short play with only two acts, but the action and the twists and turns of the plot never seem to stop, and just as soon as you think you have worked it out, something else happens to confound your theorising. Director Maggie Blaszczok does well to keep the pace up and the intrigue never too far away, whilst the cast of four convey convincing and interesting characters which only as the curtain falls are you able to fit the final piece of their jigsaw into place.

A lovely choice of play for the season at The Lyceum, and definitely worth watching.

Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 3.2.23