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28 July 2025
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5*****
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And just like that the halfway point in the 2025 of the Summer Play Festival is reached. Six down and six to go. And just before a break for a week, the best production of the season so far.
Telling the story of four businessmen on an outward bound, team building exercise who get marooned on an island in the Lake District, this is a play which is far more than the comedy it might appear at first glance. As the quartet try and work out where they might have gone wrong, the veneer of fun is stripped away as the four very different personalities clash, tempers are lost and back stories are revealed. As discussions about the ‘masculine’ go, this is remarkably topical (The play is 33 years old); it is also hugely entertaining, moving and biting.
As the curtains open, a collection of gnarled trees and masses of foliage is revealed; a tremendous feat of design and construction and somewhat different to the sets so far seen this summer. In this department Andrew Beckett and Rhys Cannon have excelled, as ever, but this is something else. The technical side of the play is demanding with plenty of lighting and sound cues and here the design and operation is first rate. A mention too for James Prendergast who has gathered a huge number of props together from seagulls to camping stoves to machetes – tremendous work.
With just four actors, there is nowhere to hide and any weakness in the line-up will stand out a mile. Not an issue here with the cast all at the top of their game – it is a wonderful ensemble. As the titular character, Dominic McChesney is perfect as the upbeat elected captain of the team, hopelessly out of his depth and with the ability to complicate simple instructions, always trying to please people but failing miserably. Christopher Lyne gives a powerhouse performance as the negative, sarcastic and aggressive Gordon who doesn’t want to be there and takes issue with everyone and everything; an unpleasant character who uses confrontation to cover his own inadequacies. This is extraordinary work, full of pent up anger and frustration, he is a bully and Lyne is utterly convincing in the role. Angus also has his issues away from work and the gradual revelation of these is beautifully realised by Jeremy Todd; a sensitive and perfectly modulated performance. In Roy, there is a history of mental health issues and Neville is at pains to ensure he is not reminded of his recent past, but he is the target of Gordon’s abuse about his religious beliefs et al. Dafydd Gwyn Howells provides a rather shy, vulnerable and likeable bear of a man; his short soliloquy in the first half is jam-packed with emotion which stops the audience in their tracks – it is a beautifully nuanced piece of work.
A better cast you couldn’t wish for.
Amidst the angst it is a very funny script and the running gag of what might be packed in Angus’ rucksack is a delight. Firth has the great ability to combine the comic with the dark so well – full of wry observation and wit, he would go on to write ‘Calendar Girls’ where this technique is starkly displayed.
Jason Marc-Williams’ skill in making sure characters are brought to the fore (even when there is only five days of rehearsal, as here) has been witnessed before and here it is sharply in evidence. This is an assured director and one for whom the story is all. He ensures that the play moves with pace but when the sensitive moments arrive they are cherished.
This incredibly funny and thoughtful play is given a tremendous production and a wonderful advert for the Sidmouth Summer Play Festival. Just go and see it, please!
The Summer Play Festival takes a break for the Folk Week and returns with the classic thriller ‘Dial M For Murder by Frederick Knott performing 11-16 August. Box Office – manorpavilion.com or 01395 514413
Cast
Neville – Dominic McChesney
Gordon – Christopher Lyne
Angus – Jeremy Todd
Roy – Dafydd Gwyn Howells
Creatives
Writer – Tim Firth
Director – Jason Marc-Williams
Set Design – Andrew Beckett
Costume Designer – Jan Huckle
Lighting Design – Chris Jackson, Will Tippet,
Sound Design – James Prendergast
Set Builder – Rhys Cannon
Stage Manager – James Prendergast
Set Assistant – Dominic McChesney
Artistic Director – Paul Taylor-Mills
Associate Producer – Andrew Beckett
