Act Reviews 2024 / 2025 Season

of the stage near the end, but I am assuming this was meant to show that perhaps the space is actually meant to be larger than the stage itself. The comedy timing was spot-on, especially in the parts involving cast coming in and out of the wardrobe, where everyone was coming onto and off the stage to ‘The Entertainer’ at the end of Act 1 and doing the Rocky Horror-esque repeated naming of everyone on stage at the end of Act 2 Scene 1 – a true indication of the quality of the direction. I understand that Tristesse and James have been given an award by the Mayor for their work on this production, and I have to say that I believe this is very well-deserved. Every member of the cast embodied their role with gusto! None more so than Blake Morris, playing Paul – Blake just looked so happy to be there, enjoying the comedy of the production, looking out to the audience to bring them in and share in his delight. This was so endearing and made the farcical things that happen to Paul even funnier. The fact that Blake kept his beard when pretending to be Sister Paula was hilarious and I could hear the audience around me commenting and laughing about this too. For me, the pinnacle of Blake’s performance was the quick-change strip tease, from the Cardinal, to Sister Paula, to Father Paul, back to just Paul – brilliant! I also really enjoyed it when Paul emerged from the basket behind the Mother Superior, did the sign of the cross with a cheeky smile (and looking like he was about to burst out laughing) and then disappeared into the wardrobe – again, fantastic comic timing. Beth Hughes as Paul’s colleague and former fiancée Sally, in some ways had the “straightest” role – despite also being part of the farce by pretending to be Sister Mary (Mary), she is the “external eye” of normality from outside the Convent which she maintains when Paul becomes too embroiled in his multiple identities to maintain his reporter’s objectivity. It can be a challenge playing the “straight” role when everyone around you is

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