Theatre Production Run

On Saturday evening (June 13th) the final performance of My Mother Said I Never Should by Charlotte Keatley took place at the Tarvin Community Centre. This was the second of three productions planned by Ashton Hayes Theatre Club in Tarvin in 2015.

The play looked at the lives, loves and times of four generations of women from Doris born in 1900, to her great-granddaughter Rosie, born in 1971. The changing dynamics of family life and the expectations, successes and disappointments experienced reflected the social changes of the twentieth century. Undoubtedly members of the audience of any age would recognise certain sayings or actions between mothers and daughters as the play progressed.

The play was performed in the body of the hall with the audience on two sides increasing the involvement of the audience with the characters. The play was also an ensemble piece, with the four actresses remaining visible at all times, handling not only the various ages and times of their characters, but delivering and removing the props as necessary. As the characters were portrayed as young children as well as at different adult ages, this staging helped the audience follow the intricacies of the fluid timeline. However, at times the actors were difficult to hear clearly, a shame when the script was the driving force of the drama.

Audience numbers for this production were a little down and none of the four performances were sold out. This is the first time that Ashton Hayes has put on a summer production at Tarvin, so it could be that the timing in the lighter evenings affected tickets sales. The company was pleased with the results of their first use of on-line ticketing with a dozen audience members using this quick and easy way of getting tickets.

The next production at the Community Centre will be in November. For more details go to www.ashtonhayestheatreclub.co.uk