| |
Theatre listings >
Theatre Index >>
A Small Family Business.
World Premier was at the National Theatre, London on 5 June 1987.
Part of the 2004 Pitlochry Festival Theatre Summer Season for full details
about theatre and
reviews of the other shows in season
here.
Playwright - Alan Ayckbourn.
Co-Directors - Benjamin Twist & Kate Nelson.
Set Designer - Trevor Coe.
Costume Designer - Anya Glinski.
Lighting Designer - Mark Pritchard.
Voice Coach - Alex Gillon.
Fight Director - Raymond Short.
Company - Pitlochry Theatre
Company .
Cast - here .
Venue - Pitlochry Theatre e-mail booking
01796 484626.
Dates and Times - here .
Run Time - 2 hours 50 mins including 20 mins interval.
Reviewer - Thelma Good.
Good but check before you book.
A Small Family Business - Pitlochry Festival Theatre Production.
Jack McCracken - Dougal Lee, Poppy McCracken - Amanda Bellamy and
Cliff McCracken - Guy Fearon.
© Douglas McBride 2004
|
Written in the '80s, Ayckbourn's main character is an innocent abroad,
he thinks everyone around him is honest, boy is Jack McCracken wrong!
In Pitlochry's Scottish Premiere of this play about how one step can have
you falling off the straight and narrow, Dougal Lee ensures all
revolves around him in the central role. Guy Fearon is his dim,
more in love with possessions but wily brother Cliff, and the infinitely
strange Rory Murray is the private detective Benedict Hough. The
production further adds to its attraction with Amanda Bellamy as
Jack's wife, Angela McGowan as Cliff's wife who's working her way
through the Rivetti Brothers and Emily Pennant- Rea as Jack's sulky
teenage daughter Samantha.
Sam's the start of the trouble, she's half-inched two cheap items from
a chemist's. Benedict Hough is on her case and arrives in the middle of
a very suprise party. It's to celebrate Jack's coming to run his father-in-law's
firm that already employs virtually all the relatives gathered in the
McCarken family house. He tries to protect his daughter and that's when
everyone's corruption starts to taint his own till then very moral life.
As the play goes on Jack finds out more and more of the family are on
the fiddle one way or another. Being Ayckbourn it has the ghastly ring
of truth. Although it is nearly 17 years old, the only dated element for
me was that I was not surprised that everyone but Jack was on some kind
of game - the intervening years have made me an increased cynic.
This is a family that not only works together, they also live very close
to one another in virtually identical houses. Scenes happen in two or
three houses immediately after one another, or cut between them, it demands
a set with rooms on top of one another with crucial visual comedy happening
in all of them. So I have advice for anyone thinking of seeing it, select
your seats with care - if you sit too far to the front or at the sides
check with the box office that you can see all the set, the bedroom and
the bathroom in particular. Restricted view seats can have an unfortunate
effect in comedies like this where it's designed to grow laughter from
action to action of breaking uo the unity of an audience.
It's a pity about the set, because Dougal Lee is extremely good
as the man who fails to keep his principles because everyone else has
thrown theirs away.
©Thelma Good 15 May 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Cast:
Jack McCracken - Dougal Lee.
Poppy McCracken - Amanda Bellamy.
Ken Ayers - Richard Addison.
Tina Rushton - Francesca Dymond.
Roy Rushton - Steven McNicoll.
Samantha McCracken - Emily Pennant-Rea.
Cliff McCracken - Guy Fearon.
Anita McCracken - Angela McGowan.
Desmond Ayres - Jonathan Dryden Taylor.
Harriet Ayres - Jacqueline Dutoit.
Yvonne Doggett - Janet Michael.
Benedict Hough - Rory Murray.
Lotario Rivetti - Harry Ward.
Uberto Rivetti - Dryw Harar.
Orlando Rivetti - R. H. Wrayard.
Vincenzo Rivetti - Hardy Warr.
Giorgio Rivetti - Hyw Arrad.
A Small Family Business' Dates & times of
Performances:- .
Preview 13 May
at 2pm.
Opens 13 May 2004 at 8pm then *15 May at 8pm, *22 May at 2pm, 27
May at 8pm.
1 June at 8pm, *2 June at 2pm, 4 June at 8pm, 7 June at 8pm, *12
June at 8pm, *16 June at 8pm, *19 June at 2pm, 25 June at 8pm.
*3 July at 2pm, *7 July at 8pm, *10 July at 8pm, 13 July at 8pm,
*14 July at 2pm, 19 July at 8pm, *24 July at 2pm, 30 July at 8pm.
5 Aug at 8pm, *11 Aug at 8pm, *14 Aug at 2pm, 20 Aug at 8pm, 26
Aug at 8pm, 30 Aug at 8pm.
*4 Sept at 2pm, 7 Sept at 8pm, *8 Sept at 2pm, 13 Sept at 8pm,
*18 Sept at 2pm, 23 Sept at 8pm, * 29 Sept at 8pm.
5 Oct at 8pm, *6 Oct at 2pm, 11 Oct at 8pm and last performance
*16 Oct at 2pm.
Theatre listings >
Theatre Index >>
|
|
