Tough times relived in an enjoyable theatre show
There can be few venues anywhere in the UK that so actively and proudly support and promote local talent and are willing to take risks even when – especially when – funding continues to be cut and budgets tightened.
For 25 years The Customs House has been a beacon for local actors, directors and writers.
The second instalment of When the Boat Comes In is a perfect example of what it has been doing so well since 1994: a local writer (Peter Mitchell was born in South Shields), telling a story about local people through local actors and a local director. I’m pleased to say it works a treat. Set a few months after we saw chancer Jack Ford’s betrayal of teacher Jessie Seaton (Alice Stokoe), both characters appear to have moved on.
Jack (the excellent Jamie Brown) has married the pregnant Dolly (Anna Bolton) while Jessie is about to marry a new sweetheart.
Times are tough, though, and Jack is struggling to provide for his wife and child-to-be.
Evidence of just how hard things are, is given by Jack and Dolly’s widowed neighbour Carrie Downey (Sarah Balfour), who is drowning in debt and can’t afford to feed her two children.
Local toff Horatio Manners (Steve Byron) offers Jack an (almost) legitimate opportunity to make some ready money and in the ruse that follows, Jack meets the lecherous Lady Jessica Croner (also Alice Stoker, who slips effortlessly from upright teacher to sleazy drunk).
The pace is hectic and the show is expertly directed by Katy Weir. Scene changes are cleverly done, occasionally masked by crooner Luke Maddison belt- ing out hits from the 1930s.
The staging is imaginative and effective, although it has to be said the sound wasn’t great and when the dialogue is so rapidly delivered, this is important and needs sorting.
The performances, however, are generally excellent. Leading from the front is Jamie Brown, whose central performance the show is built around. He has to be good, and he is - compelling, confident and word perfect.
On occasion it feels a little too much like an episode of a TV show, and the ending – leaving the door well and truly open for the boat to come in again – adds to this.