The Haunted Through Lounge and Recessed Dining Nook at Farndale Castle

There have been a number of plays about the dubiously staged productions by the ladies of the fictitious Farndale  Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Dramatic Society, and they have made a spectacle of themselves yet again.  That, of course, is the reason the audience was there in such good numbers on opening night. Initially, it seemed to be no more than a shambolic rehearsal with calls for lines, the right props and so on but finally the ladies improved their skills by adding deaths and murders within the castle walls. The Christ Church Hall used for the play gave ample space and good sound for the audience.

Sharon White directed very well indeed, as she normally does. The end result and standard are obtained at a much higher level with an enterprising creative director, and that was the case tonight. The set befitted the Farndale Ladies standard of anything will do, as so much of it had to come apart and then be reassembled on stage. It worked.

The cast consisted of five females and one male, with a couple of performers playing more than one part. The demands on those players were to show that the ladies’ plans were ambitious, and a failure. The interplay throughout was really very good indeed and made the whole situation more hilarious for a good night of fun and laughter.

I hope many of the cast will be in another production at St Luke’s or another community theatre quite soon to give me the chance to see such talent when it’s not ‘going to waste’. Have a good night out at this production with the longest name of any play I know. Oh, and the night was not long at all.

William Davies