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One occasionally sees and marvels at one tour de force in plays, but rarely do we encounter two together in the same play, as here. This is a wonderful piece if you have two consummate actresses within your ranks as the Club has.
Lettice is a guide in a minor country mansion which has virtually no history of any note. In consequence she makes it up with ever increasing leaps of her fertile imagination. Caught out and sacked by her. ‘seeker after truth' boss from Head Office, the latter visits her in her basement flat and after a bout of recrimination they eventually find they are soul mates.
This is a very long play but such is its quality it had the large audience's full attention even to the very late ending. Nor is it an easy play to stage with three interior and completely different sets. Again the greatest credit to the club for the way they overcame this hurdle, with first a drop curtain showing a magnificent staircase, then an efficient office side-stage scene, and finally a wonderfully eccentric basement flat. It was obvious that much t.l.c had been lavished on it, and it fully represented Lettice's foibles and eccentricities. It was a pity the curtain has to be opened prematurely to set some of the furniture, thus eliminating to some extent what would have been a glorious surprise at opening.
With just two major parts, the Director had been able to bring her experience to bear and concentrate on them. Consequently we had a relevant sustained pace throughout with plenty of easy movement about the set by the two protagonists, and by Lettice's Solicitor, the only other major part in the play, in Act 3.
Penny Wenham played Lettice with a most beautiful performance, realising all the foibles and eccentricities of the somewhat strange character to the full. Paulette Barton as Lotte Schoen her 'tormentor/friend' was equally good - her seeking after truth reminding one of Jean Brodie. Together they made a most formidable team. I did wonder if Lotte's tipsiness after several glasses of Lettice's potent syrup could have been a little more in evidence, but this is a very minor point in two scintillating performances.
Richard Williams played the Solicitor, Mr Bardolph, also with great success in his cameo part in Act 3. Chosen by Lettice because of his name's Shakespearean connotations, he developed the part nicely from initial frustration to finally joining in the duo's latest fantasy. Annie Sutton in the minor part of Miss Framer came over well, although she would, I think, have been too scared to sit down in Miss Shoen's office.
A tremendous amount of careful detail had been lavished upon both sets and costumes. Lettice's ever-more outlandish outfits contrasted well with Lotte's plainer apparel, although I am not sure Miss Schoen would have descended to wearing trousers. But these two could have (and did) get up to almost anything.
Props and furnishings were wonderful - Lettice's flat was literally an Aladdin's cave of eccentricities.
This was a long and wordy evening, but one to be treasured in the memory for a very long time.
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