| Just wizard ! |
| It is
always difficult for a reviewer when he has to comment on
a play acted by young people. Does he bend his criteria
to suit their age or does he apply the same conditions as
he would for an adult performance? Fortunately the
decision was made for me by the sheer excellence of the
players - this production must be judged by the highest
standards. This play needs astute direction and some inhibited acting, indeed preferably a little over the top. Which it got. Ian Wallace ...was grand as the Wizard ... (and) the four would-be husbands (Ryan Witney, Sean Taylor, Matthew Wright and Andrew Chisholm) sustained an unenviably long hour sitting at the table feigning death - during the interval too! Cruelty to actors, I call it ! There was a first rate performance from Clare Murrell as a scene painter (trees) in which she displayed a truly professional ability in throwing lines away.... ... Some gorgeous bangs shot us all out of our seats... Thank you, Beaconsfield, for a splendid evening. |
The Bucks Advertiser : April 26, 1989 |
Wizard performance by the Young Theatre |
| "Break
a leg" is the charming phrase theatre people use
when they wish someone good luck. Never one to bow to
convention, director and lead, Ian Wallace, instead
cracked two ribs in rehearsals. If this was a bad sign,
it had no ill-effects on another stylish Young Theatre
production which clearly relied on professional teamwork
and not good fortune. ... ... ... Ian Wallace's Ulf hammered some meaning into the wizard's moralising. Terrific too was Hayley Brown as the Empress. The most powerful scene was the arrival of the sisters (Maria Askew, Rosy Wendover, Karen Ogborn and Tanya Baker). Moving in unison, they hypnotised the brothers (Matthew Wright, Ryan Witney, Andrew Chisholm and Sean Taylor) into wedlock. |
The Bucks Free Press : April 28th, 1989 |