HIGH LAUGHTER AND BODY COUNT

By Kate Young - Friday, April 25, 2008

Arsenic And Old Lace by the Pepperpot Players with, from left, Maureen Russell, Faye Lushey, Teresa Woolven, Terry Pearson, Edgar Jones and Peter Farrin. Picture by Peter Boam.

STAGE REVIEW
IF you like black comedy and more bodies than you can shake a stick at, try Arsenic And Old Lace, as performed by The Pepperpot Players.
The show opened last Friday at Whitwell Village Hall and has its final performance at Niton Village Hall tomorrow (Saturday).
Directed by Peter Boffin, the play was written by Joseph Kesselring in 1941 and was made famous by the 1944 film starring Cary Grant.
The Pepperpot Players version stars Maureen Russell and Faye Lushey as the gentile Brewster sisters and they were perfect in the role of kind, elderly ladies with a liking for cooking and winemaking.
Teresa Woolven was fantastic as Teddy Brewster, the eccentric young man who believes he is Teddy Roosevelt, while Terry Pearson gave a solid performance as theatre critic Mortimer Brewster — possibly the sanest character in the cast.
Edgar Jones was suitably menacing as Jonathan Brewster, the black sheep of the family, while Peter Farrin’s performance as the somewhat madcap Dr Einstein was lovable.
Martin Woolven brought village bobby and budding playwright PC Brophy to life, while Mike Santer made his debut with the Pepperpot Players as Inspector Rooney.
Many people will recognise Mike as the barman at the Apollo Theatre, so it was really nice to see him using his talents on stage, rather than serving behind the bar.
Chris White was good as Mortimer’s girlfriend, Elaine Harper, while Peter Boffin made a small appearance as the unfortunate Mr Witherspoon from Happy Valley sanatorium.
This show was very enjoyable, with polished performances, good comic timing, well-thought-out costumes and props, funny situations and some very cleverly named corpses.

HIGH LAUGHTER AND BODY COUNT

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