Connecting professional and amateur theatre in Newbury, West Berkshire and beyond

Box Theatre Company

Last production

The Good and Faithful Servant and Alternative Accommodation, 12th to 15th March 2008
The Good and Faithful Servant is by Joe Orton, and Alternative Accommodation is by Pam Valentine.

Where

New Greenham Arts.

Review of The Good and Faithful Servant and Alternative Accommodation

12th to 15th March 2008.

From the Newbury Weekly News.

Contrast of attitudes

Box Theatre: The Good and Faithful Servant, at New Greenham Arts, from Wednesday, March 12 to Saturday, March 15

Joe Orton wrote The Good and Faithful Servant in 1964, about what happens when a man retires from a soulless corporate job. Attitudes to retirement and old age have changed enormously in the decades since, and Pam Valentine’s 2005 play Alternative Accommodation neatly contrasts these attitudes.

In The Good and Faithful Servant, George Buchanan’s retirement plans, after 50 years loyal service, go awry when he meets Edith, with whom he had a brief fling 50 years perviously, and he discovers that he has a family. Orton’s construction of the play at first seems rather naïve, with the unlikely meeting and rapid reunion of the couple, but this can be explained by its elements of farce and a nod towards the theatre of the absurd (N F Simpson came to mind).

Paul Isherwood was superb as George; diffident, slow and hesitant, with his initial optimism spiralling into depression and despair. Tracey Donnelly’s Edith was a good match for George, never quite getting to grips with what was happening to him.

Sanna Nobbs as Mrs Vealfoy, the egregious personnel manager, was thoroughly unpleasant but, for me, too much of a caricature. Laura Hamblin and Jon Harding were convincing as the two almost normal young people falling foul of the moral climate of the early 1960s.

Alternative Accommodation, on the other hand, gave a much more positive slant to growing old. Anna’s husband has recently died, and her three children have come to her house to sort out her future. For them, this means that she sells the house and moves into a retirement home, but Anna has other plans.

This short play zipped along with a very strong cast. Laura Hamblin, as Anna, was in control of her family all through. Adelina Miller was the workaholic business woman, too busy to care for her mother. Neal Murray as brother Peter was a delightfully pompous financial consultant, and Sanna Nobbs gave an impressive performance as the homely vicar’s wife with no opinions of her own.

Gavin Slaughter directed this well matched pair of plays, which deserved a bigger audience.

PAUL SHAVE

Previous productions

Dangerous Corner, 8th to 11th November 2006. See the review in the Archive.
Accidental Death of an Anarchist, 25th to 28th January 2006. See the review in the Archive.
A Streetcar Named Desire, 11th to 14th May 2005. See the review in the Archive.
Look Back in Anger, 3rd to 6th November 2004. See the review in the Archive.
Blue Remembered Hills, 26th February to 1st March 2003. See the review in the Archive.
A Doll's House, 3rd to 6th April 2002 at the Watermill. See the review in the Archive.
Les Liaisons Dangereuses, 30th May to 2nd June 2001 at New Greenham Arts. See the review in the Archive. We also did this production at HADCAF on 1st July.
Bouncers, by John Godber, 21st to 24th June 2000. A vision of 90s urban nightlife. See the reviews in the Archive.

About the company

The Box Theatre Company was formed in 1993 with one aim – to bridge the gap between amateur and professional theatre in the area, by providing committed amateurs and aspiring professionals with opportunities to produce challenging drama within the framework of a professionally operated Theatre Company. We aim to produce innovative, quality theatre for the West Berkshire area. All members live locally, and are united in their desire to promote the development of local theatre and drama.

Past Box productions include:

  • Fear and Misery of the Third Reich by Bertolt Brecht

  • One was Nude and One Wore Tails by Dario Fo

  • The Artful Widow by Goldini

  • The Cherry Orchard by Chekhov

  • Our Countries Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker at The Watermill Theatre

  • Trumpets and Raspberries by Dario Fo

  • Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel

  • The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

  • Bouncers by John Godber

  • Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton

Since their previous base at the Arts Workshop, Newbury, was closed in November 1998 The Box have moved to New Greenham Arts, and have performed both Dancing at Lughnasa and The Glass Menagerie in the auditorium.

The Box Theatre Company wishes to provide opportunities for committed local people to become involved in all areas of theatre. We are always keen to recruit new members, for on or off stage roles, and invite any interested people to contact the Artistic Director Sanna Nobbs on 01635 45963. No audition is required.