St Edmund's Theatre, Southwold
St Edmund's Theatre, Southwold
The 24th season of the Southwold Summer Theatre got off to a fine start on Thursday for Jill Freud and Company with Anthony Falking-ham's slick production of an English version of Kesselring's Arsenic and Old Lace.
One main character is a theatre-hating drama critic, the play abounds with derogatory comments about critics, and so this is could be a difficult play to review. Your EDP critic was delighted to remain to the end, and didn't write his review on the way to the theatre.
Patience Tomlinson and Jane Evers played two charmingly beguiling elderly spinster sisters, each very different, but comple-menting each other while their dark secret emerged.
The plot revolves around their three extraordinary nephews, entertainingly portrayed by Jonathan Jones, Nigel Pilkington and Jonathan Ashley. Clive Flint made a suitably plodding slow-witted policeman, and Richard Gibson (otherwise known as Herr Flick in Allo! Allo!) was the convincingly sinister German doctor.
Kate Middleton played a fiancée who could be astute or blindly trusting as required and Armen Gregory played the remaining two parts.
As ever Maurice Rubens created a magnificent set on this small stage, and Jim Laws designed the highly effective lighting.
This is a play not to miss - it runs in Southwold until July 28, then moves to Aldeburgh from July 31 to August 4.
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