A riotous romp - we loved Charley’s Aunt at Newbury’s Watermill!
Charley’s Aunt at The Watermill, Bagnor until November 15
Review by Robin Strapp
We loved it!
Brandon Thomas’s Victorian farce Charley’s Aunt has been given a modern make over in Rob Madge’s hilarious adaption. This fast paced absurd production is brilliantly directed by Sophie Drake with flair.
Alex Berry’s charming garden room set with soaring pink pillars and arches with red and white striped doors perfectly reflects the ambience of an Oxford college. The costumes are delightful from the undergraduates’ outlandish blazers to the floral dresses of the women.
The performances are bursting with energy and the actors are a sheer joy to watch as the complex plot unfolds.
The themes of mistaken identity, the role of women, gender, love, money and social norms are explored together with the intricacy of queerness.
Jack (Benjamin Westerby) and Charley the exuberant Jonathan Case are in love with Kitty (Yasemin Özdemir) and Amy (Mae Munro). However their relationships are ruled by a strict etiquette demanding that they have a chaperone present. So how can they meet up and exchange their love?
They are hoping that Charley’s rich aunt from Brazil, Donna Lucia d’Alvodorez (Maggie Service), will fit the bill but she sends a telegram to inform them that she’s delayed.
The girls panic but they have a ruse and persuade butler Babbs, an outstanding performance from Max Gill, to cross dress and play the aunt, which he does with tremendous comic aplomb.
He even convincies Amy’s strict father Stephen Spettigue (Richard Earl) that she is Donna Lucia from Brazil, “where the nuts grow”.
Spettigue is overcome by Babbs and hopes she will marry him, thinking she is rich and will help redress his own desperate financial situation. He is persuaded to give a signed letter giving permission for Amy and Kitty to become engaged to Jack and Charley.
There is a wonderful afternoon tea scene, pure panto slapstick that brought much laughter from the audience.
All appears to be going well until the real Donna Lucia turns up, accompanied by her adopted nephew Eli (Elijah Ferreira), who also has an unexpected story to reveal… absolute chaos reigns.
Not to be missed. Fight for a ticket!
RS
As part of a partnership with Newbury Pride, Watermill Theatre will be hosting their first Come As You Are Night on Monday, October 27 ahead of the evening's performance, inviting guests to attend as their most comfortable self for drinks and nibbles from 6pm. There will be individual bathrooms open before and after the evening's performance offering everyone the opportunity to get changed should they wish.
