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2004 Productions:-

A Death of Convenience by Ron Hutson

Critic's Comments
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"Another full house awaited me for this production; I am always pleased at the good turnout that accompanies the group's performances. The hall was welcoming, suitably informed with photos of past productions and I was treated splendidly. The programme is bold and interesting, its always good to know of debut performances and this show had many.

I liked the set; there was an excellent feel of spaciousness commensurate with an aristocratic home and the cast were directed to use it well too. The furnishings were old fashioned and suitable.

The stage management had little to do with this composite set, the crew working in black between scenes was quick and effective. Similarly the light and sound crew had an easy debut with few effects which on the whole were fine. The light for the conservatory was far too bright but the flashing as Lydia is electrocuted was very good. I liked the clock ticking as the scenes changed but more sensitivity in timing lighting changes needs to be learnt. They came up before actors were ready. These are small problems that will improve with experience.

There were credible performances, some excellent relationships built and moments of genuine feeling and the blocking of moves was good most of the time.

The cast worked very well with keeping up the pace and the audience were able to keep up their concentration. There were many well staged moments; Ruth's admission of her past, Geoffrey's move on "I wasn't locked out", the cast waiting for the final verdict from the inspector and Derek's move out front after "It was meant for you". In fact the ensemble playing by the whole cast was very good and their concentration on stage highly praiseworthy.

A death of convenience was far too convenient. However despite my concerns with the play, it was an interesting evening and pleased your audience."   
              Tricia Stephens-North West Essex Theatre Guild

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"This play was the premiere of the third play written by local playwright Ron Hutson. The group have previously premiered his previous two, both of which I had the pleasure to see. Billed as a Murder, Mystery it was directed by the writer whilst the pace was a little slow to start with it got going when the action hotted-up in Act III. The play was performed as modern day but could possibly have been better set in the mid 1900's, as I felt the script was a little dated, for the chosen period. The performers were all well cast and their characters in the main were nicely developed and observed. The entire play was performed against the backdrop of another excellent set"           
     Colin Butcher-National Operatic and Dramatic Association

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