2006

 

Oh, What A Life! 

6-7 May 2006, Austin Hall, Amenity Centre, Main Street, Yaxley, Cambs. 2.30pm & 7.30pm

 

'Oh, What A Life!' comprised of three one-act comedy plays with a take on the funny side of life: 'A Little Box Of Oblivion' by Stephen Bean, 'Nigel's Law' by Tony Edwards and 'Thermal Underwear' by Andrew Davies. It received a good review from our NODA Eastern Area rep, which can be read at the bottom of this page. Directed by Mark Cowdell.

 

Photos:

A Little Box Of Oblivion | Nigel's Law | Thermal Underwear 1 | Thermal Underwear 2 | Backstage

 

 

 

'A Little Box Of Oblivion' A man is settling on a park bench when a woman rushes on with a box. Before he can say no, the box has been left on the bench with instructions that it cannot be moved, knocked, tilted or opened. A series of motley characters then begin to arrive, each with a theory about the contents of the box. (Produced by arrangement with Plays & Musicals)

CAST:
Cool Guy.........................	LEE JORDAN
Woman...........................	CHRISTINE SEARLE
Neurotic...........................	CALLI ROBERTSON-DUPONT
Doom..............................	RENA KALANDRANI
Amateur Sleuth................	LEWIS HALL

 

 

'Nigel's Law' An accident prone Nigel is the despair of his parents, but then the beautiful Louise turns up... (Produced by arrangement with Jasper Publishing)

CAST:
Nigel...............................	MARK COWDELL
Paul................................	MARTIN RAWDING
Louise.............................	HEIDI SEMPLE
Mum...............................	JULIE JORDAN
Dad................................	KEVIN HUGHES
Kevin...............................	DALE CHAPMAN
Waiter.............................	CHRISTINE SEARLE
Polly................................	GISELE RAWLINS

 

'Thermal Underwear' Elaine is having her Mum and Dad over for their anniversary celebration, along with other family and friends. Her husband Bob suspects she's having an affair and he seeks her parents' advice - but is Dad quite up to it? (Produced by arrangement with Samuel French)

CAST:
Elaine..............................	GISELE RAWLINS
Bob.................................	MARK COWDELL
Mum................................	JULIE JORDAN
Dad.................................	KEVIN HUGHES
Shirley.............................	HEIDI SEMPLE
Gareth.............................	MARTIN RAWDING

 

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The following review for 'Oh, What A Life!' was submitted by our NODA Eastern Area rep John Williamson in the Autumn 2006 edition of 'NODA Eastern Area News':

"It is always good to welcome a new dramatic society on to the scene and the recent development of the new township of Hampton, on the outskirts of Peterborough, has produced a very enthusiastic group which is now entering its second year. This production was an evening of light hearted one-act plays which provided opportunities for the whole company, who clearly enjoyed themselves in the process.

The entertainment began with 'A Little Box Of Oblivion' which is a relatively new award winning play. An absurd situation is examined from many different angles and the small cast rose to the challenge admirably. Particularly nice performances from Lee Jordan, Rena Kalandrani and Calli Robertson-Dupont.

'Nigel's Law' followed which had a large and varied cast and the evening was completed by 'Thermal Underwear' which is a favourite festival choice. All the company worked hard in each production but there were very solid and contrasting performances from Heidi Semple (Shirley and Louise), Gisele Rawlins (Elaine and Polly) and Julie Jordan (the two Mums). One of the real advantages of a one-act evening is that it enables the more experienced actors to show their versatility.

Occasional uneven variations of pace need watching but were not significant enough to spoil the enjoyment of the audience. All three productions were capably directed by Mark Cowdell, who also made a very effective Nigel and Bob, and is to be congratulated on both performances".