Sisterly Feelings
By Alan Ayckbourn
Synopsis:
Sisterly Feelings offers Bath and Cornish audiences the chance to see not one, but four, versions of a classic Ayckbourn comedy. The play is so crafted that at the end of Scenes 1 and 2 actors make choice determined, firstly, by the toss of a coin and secondly by the whim of an actress. The choices, random or contrived, will enable audiences to follow different stories on different days. On Friday 19th June and Thursday 2nd July the performances will be random, with no one knowing which acts lie ahead!
The action of the play centres on the lives of two sisters: Abigail and Dorcas. Abigail is struggling with an unsatisfactory marriage to an upwardly mobile businessman: Patrick, whilst Dorcas is involved with a less than inspiring boyfriend: Stafford. Into the sisters' lives comes bronzed, athletic Simon who appears the epitome of each sister's innermost desire. A tussle between the two sisters as to which one of them can 'win' Simon provides moments of hilarious Ayckbourn comedy, whilst the more serious implications of modern relationships are not overlooked.
The entire action of Sisterly Feelings is set on Pendon Common. The Minack Theatre provides the ideal setting for teh open-air action with kite flying, picnics, camping and cross-country runs enabling all facets of its stage to be explored. Audiences will be intrigued to see if the play's demands for 'torrential' downpours, or night-time scenes are perfectly timed to coincide with Cornish weather and sunsets!
Next Stage is delighted to have been invited to try out the prestigious Minack Theatre, but also very grateful to all its loyal Bath supporters for havin gthe chance to try out audience reactions on home territory and in the dry!
Director/s | Cast:
Ann Garner
Director
Dave Dunn
Dr Ralph Matthews
Paul Dyson
Len Coker
Bridget Casse
Rita Coker
Joanna Bowman
Abigail Smythe
Jan Greenwood
Dorcas Matthews
Benjamin Norman
Melvyn Matthews
George Gent
Patrick Smythe
Dave Saunders
Stafford Wilkins
Emma Frampton
Brenda Grimshaw
Darian Nelson
Simon Grimshaw
Andrew Ellison
Constable Murphy
Tony Wood
Major Lidgett
Review/s of Sisterly Feelings:
Review 1: Chance Encounter
Next Stage is probably cursing the day it asked author and patron Sir Alan Ayckbourn to write a programme forward for its production of Sisterly Feelings. In it, Sir Alan talks about his fascination with chance happenings in the theatre - the night the set fell down or the theatre cat wandered on stage. He explains how these events become the only thing that people remember about the show. Sir Alan…click here to read the whole review.
By Jo Wyborn, Bath Chronicle
Review 2: A Case of the rain rainging on the lust for farce
When the players applaud the audience, as they did as the metaphorical curtain came down at the Minack on Monday, then there is no need to ask what the weather was like. While the Bath-based Next Stage Theatre Company, making its debut here, couldn't have forecast or foreseen the flaming fickle June we've suffered this year, nevertheless, it was tempting fate, to say the least, to opt for a first production…click here to read the whole review.