Season's Greetings

The lead-up to Christmas is a time of mixed feelings. Depending on one’s circumstances, a blend of delight and dread can be the prevailing mood.

Frequently the dread relates in no small part to the fact that people thrown together for the Festive season and fuelled by alcohol can rub each other up the wrong way, with explosive results. This is certainly the case at the home of Belinda and Neville in Alan Ayckbourn’s comedy Season’s Greetings, as family and friends gather for Christmas. The play is currently finalising its Galleon Theatre Group run at the Domain Theatre.

A minor mixup in reviewer schedules meant I went along to review the play rather later than would normally be the case but it was an interesting change in that I got to see the actors after they’d had time to fully develop their characters.

Brian Godfrey is a standout as the bumbling uncle, Bernard, who clearly must be preparing all year for his boring and dreaded annual Christmas puppet show. An excellent performance by this experienced actor. Lindsay Dunn is very fine and highly amusing in his spot-on portrayal of Harvey, who is obsessed with guns and security.

Mari Nield is very good as hostess Belinda, although her performance is occasionally marred by shrillness when her character is angry or excited. Scott Battersby plays electronics-obsessed host Neville in an understated and controlled performance.

Adrian Heness gives Eddie an enigmatic quality, with hints of a probably abusive husband below the surface, or at the very least, an unhappy and hapless man totally out of touch with his wife’s needs. Charlotte Batty is very convincing as Eddie’s tired and disenchanted pregnant wife Pattie while Joanne St Clair is very funny as drunken Phyllis, wife of Bernard.

Maxine Grubel gives a sensitive and frequently poignant performance as Belinda’s sister Rachel. Simon Lancione also does well in the difficult role of Clive, who has no family connections.

Pace is excellent, particularly in the first half of the show and director Kym Clayton makes creative use of the wide stage.

Set design, all technical aspects, costumes and makeup/hair help the actors create very believable characters and we feel as if we are watching real people, though some not particularly nice, who have personalities full of human flaws as in real life.

Season’s Greetings is not an easy play to produce and some may find it disquieting to watch, as many of its characters are not people you’d particularly want to spend time with.

It’s as certain as Boxing Day follows Christmas Night that some of us will have a Festive Season that comes uncomfortably close to Ayckbourn’s play.

Season’s Greetings is a successful conclusion to Galleon Theatre Group’s 2017 season, heralding a busy year ahead in 2018 for the company’s 50^th anniversary.

Lesley Reed