Taken on emotional rollercoaster ride
Review
SEPTEMBER IN THE RAIN, ESK VALLEY THEATRE VARIOUS VENUES By Mike Tilling
The plastic seats, small stage and community cohesion of Goathland Village Hall are somehow consonant with this story of a couple’s yearly holidays in Blackpool.
But rest assured, once the actors are on stage, we experience professional theatre of high quality from Esk Valley Theatre.
Liz (Una McNulty) and Jack (Mark Stratton) rarely even hold hands, but their devotion runs deep. This is the Donald McGill generation of knotted handkerchiefs and rolled-up trousers. Both actors effortlessly telescope the history of a marriage into a couple of hours of theatre.
Una McNulty embodies the rock-solid stoicism that we remember of the 1940s/50s generation. We see a single crisis in her life that almost ends her marriage, but it is rescued by a trip up Blackpool Tower.
Mark Stratton is the taci- turn miner who nevertheless drenches his hankie at a performance of The Student Prince. He is one of those actors who can elicit gales of laughter just by raising an eyebrow. His character is a study of a generation of honourable men lost to pit closures.
Enterprising and inspirational direction from Sheila Carter extracts the full range of emotions from John Godber’s play while long-serving production manager Graham Kirk makes the most of limited resources with the set and lighting design.