My Friend Miss Flint

My Friend Miss Flint
By Donald Churchill and Peter Yeldham. Tea Tree Players (SA). February 7 - 17, 2018

Tea Tree Players have been tailoring live community theatre to their loyal audiences since 1976 and My Friend Miss Flint, the first of this year’s offerings, is no exception.

Premiering in 1984, My Friend Miss Flint is an often performed, typical British comedy. However, times have changed and references to “fat, unattractive women” are unnecessary and could be cut without affecting the play’s integrity.

Written by successful comedy collaborators, Donald Churchill and Peter Yeldham, the plot features well used comedy twists and turns, and without adding too much of a spoiler, includes a troublesome, non-existent Public Relations Consultant who is at the heart of all of the problems.

Whilst television gardening personality Tom Lambert may not be in quite the same league as Martha Stewart or Al Capone, it appears that he has a very serious tax problem created by his dodgy accountant, Sarah, his ex-wife. She has invented an employee for Tom, Joanna Flint, who has been used as a tax dodge for him and a large number of other clients. Enter the Inland Revenue and Tom’s problems unfurl over the course of one day, in rapid succession.

Sophie Gardner worked convincingly as Sarah, building her performance and developing a no nonsense, but warm woman who is responsible for Tom’s impending crisis and who sees the best solution for her own dilemma is to buy a new bikini at Harrods before escaping to Spain.

Tom’s day begins with a call from Mr Dodds of the IR enquiring about his Public Relations Officer, Miss Flint.  David Kinna missed the opportunity to build pace and panic, a direction that the script describes for Tom. Rather, he appears just to be somewhat annoyed.

Nick Manning–Bennett is smooth, suave and potentially lethal as the tax inspector and uses the slow, steady pacing of dialogue effectively, showing some of the tactics of a cat toying with a trapped, hapless mouse as he reveals what he “might” know to the increasingly fearful character of Tom.

The belly laughing comedy in the play is provided by Albert (who actually has multiple identities and thus avoids paying tax whilst maximising benefits), played by Timothy Cousins. Cousins is larger than life and revels in his antics as a drunk. At times, though, this enthusiasm tips into upstaging other actors who are delivering important dialogue that takes the audience to the next plot twist. His scene delivering details of the tax avoidance strategies of everyone, including the local publican, to the undercover imperious, confident IR Chief Investigating Officer (Debby Kulikovsky) is a crowd pleaser.

Director Selena Britz has gathered together a cast who clearly love their roles, but who, on opening night were having difficulty developing and sustaining their characters due to inconsistent energy and pacing. Perhaps the director also has good reasons for having the cast deliver a British comedy, full of place references such as Harrods, without English accents. The exception was Chanelle Le Roux, playing the role of goodtime girl Lucy, using a version of a broad Cockney accent.

The small stage is well used, but the script describes Tom as a wealthy man in an upper tax bracket. His home decorations and furnishings, including a nondescript, backward sloping couch that seems to trap the actors, does not indicate a well to do warehouse apartment.

The period of the play is unclear as there are mixed era references about people and events. Costumes provide little more insight into the time in which the story is set. Particularly incongruous is some of the set dressing and the mismatched mugs and china used to serve tea.

Whilst My Friend Miss Flint may not be a deep and meaningful lesson in life, it is an entertaining audience pleaser that just might also remind us to have a quick chat with our tax accountant.

Jude Hines

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