Critiques

NODA Crit - Lennie Self

What a pleasure it was to see a show that is rarely performed and I had not seen before 1 cannot understand why it is not more frequently performed as it has principal parts for people of all ages and some very catchy tunes.

Director Tricia Richardson had some clever ideas and made the most of the limited space available. I particularly liked the staging for "Peaceable Haven" with each group of people absorbed in their own pursuits. Throughout the evening there were some very attractive groupings and simple, yet very effective choreography.

It is to the societies credit that they always enter wholeheartedly into the spirit of any show. The sepia photographs of the cast on the old piano were particularly effective, and dressing the front of house staff in wild west costumes all added to the fun. I liked the cactus signs to summon the waitresses, and the gingham over hessian tablecloths all added authenticity. The candle holders should have been more substantial.

Arranging the tables in a spine, is certainly a space saving idea, but should have been arranged with the apex pointing away from the stage as viewing lines were obscured for some of the audience.

On Friday the audience were very noisy and took some time to settle down, and this, combined with the noisy arrival of late comers marred the opening.

There were some good performances on Friday night.

The Tibbs, Alice and Bill were very competently played by Wendy East and Simon Phillips. Wendy maintained her very realistic accent and sang well with a pleasant voice. She was a very positive character. I enjoyed Simon's slow, laconic portrayal of Bill, (with definite suggestions of John Wayne), he was a very believable character and put his songs over well. His height was a definite advantage and added humour to his interactions with Hangin' Judge West (John Oglesby).

Lyn Hug made the most of her role as Sister Priscilla with a realistic Irish accent. Again there was some nice groupings around her for "Aggroville" She certainly made the most of her dying scene.

Kirsten Havenga gave a confident performance as Jane with a good accent and nice stage presence. She delivered her lines well. She has a very tuneful pretty voice with good projection, and shows a lot of promise, but she should curb her inclination to croon in a "pop" mode. She was ideally partnered by Jack Marchant and they were a very believable pair of young lovers. They excelled in their love scene in Act two.

The Earps were very funny, and had obviously rehearsed their routine well. Their song with the Judge was slick Anne Pinkus had some nice macho movements and was so well made up that when she removed her beard and appeared as a woman I could not identify her. With his very good timing and "rubber legs" Paul Instrall was excellent playing the butt to all the jokes. He has very good stage presence and timing and excelled later in the very enjoyable "Dancing Backwards", (for me one of the highlights of the show).

Whenever she appears on stage Wendy Marchant always makes an impression; She enters fully into every part she plays, working the whole time she is on stage, and with Sarah Jane Bottrill and Jenny Heusen (two more experienced performers), and Jo Halkett the level of acting was raised when they were on stage with Wendy East. They were five very creditable characters.

The husbands and other womenfolk all entered into the spirit of the show with nice characterisation, especially in Act two. Please note gentlemen, when playing a cowboy it is not necessary to keep your thumbs in your belt most of the time.

Madame Lola and the soiled Doves were a good contrast to the townsfolk. With her well maintained accent (which would not have seemed out of place in " 'Allo 'Allo") and super rhythmical voice Lisa, another excellent performer gave a very good performance singing and acting with panache ."Madame de Pompador" was another of the highlights of the show, well sung with nice chorus movement The action for the gag with the bosoms was unfortunately masked by the position of the chairs. The ladies of the town all looked good and moved well throughout the evening.

"Wild Wild Women" made an impressive finale to Act one with effective, well co- ordinated movement.

Act two was equally enjoyable.

Dancing Backwards is an excellent comedy number and was well performed with simple (if somewhat repetitive) choreography. And "Hearts of Gold" was a lovely moment.

Although fiscally prudent, the use of canned accompaniment detracted from the overall enjoyment of the show. The music was far too loud for Clint and Myrtle'e song, and when on one occasion Jamie was out of time an accompanist would have been able to adjust the pace. If you use individual microphones (and it should not be necessary in a small hall like Chipperfield Village Hall) please practice if you need to take some clothing off.

The strobe lighting was very effectively used and it was good to see so many notices in the hall warning of it’s use.

Overall it was a very good evenings entertainment. The set was effective and costumes and make up excellent. Overall the pace was very good, but there the were a couple of occasions when the pace was very slow and the audience became restless. A few soloists were very exposed vocally.

Thank you Chipperfield Theatre Group for another very enjoyable evening.

Best wishes

Lennie

Watford Observer Crit - Andy Hilton

Saturday night out at the village hall in Chipperfield may not have the most exotic sounding ring to it, but, as my grandma used to tell me, surprises are always ready to come out of hiding and bite you on the bottom.

One such chomp on my posterior occurred this weekend as I gunned my battered mini down the leafy backroads of rural Chipperfield.

Having been reliably informed that the Chipperfield Theatre Group had transformed the village hall from its normally drab existence into a dangerous and exotic saloon bar, I was anxious to see their latest production Wild Wild Women.

My high speed driving was also connected to the fact that I had snatched a glimpse of their advertising leaflet which paraded the enticing suggestion that I would be able to conduct my review whilst purchasing large amounts of alcohol from scantily clad cowgirl waitresses.

It's been a long time since I was the first in the queue for anything.

Set in the dusty town of Aggroville, the show told the story of the Clantons and the McLairds, two cowboy families who seemed hell bent on shooting as many pieces out of each other as possible.

This was a town where a sheriff’s badge was about as useful as a broken pencil and even the arrival of the tough talking Hangin' Judge West (John Oglesby) was not enough to stop the shooting competition.

Things finally came to a head when the town's guitar playing, singing nun Sister Pricilla (Lyn Hug) was shot in the head by a stray bullet.

A clear signal if ever there was one that the good guys needed to step out of their cowardly hiding places and hope that their combined numbers added up to more than three.

Despite some singing that sounded like a cat being slowly strangled, the show contained much that was to be applauded.

The set itself was well crafted and the fantastically vivid costumes deserving of an A plus.

The acting had that air of enthusiasm that often carries talent further than it would normally go and the 28 members of the cast engaged in some pretty well choreographed and nifty line dancing. The packed out audience clearly loved it, with lots of whoopin' and hollerin' in the middle of the songs.

 Andy Hilton

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