A delightful production of a rarely performed play, delivered with charm and sincerity; funny, telling and moving in equal measure.Summary
Rating
Excellent
It is something of a mystery why On Golden Pond is, seemingly, so rarely performed. So when the opportunity to see this award-winning play comes along, one would be foolish to miss out. Made famous by the Oscar-winning film version starring Katherine Hepburn and Henry Fonda, the play offers two older actors cracking roles to get their teeth into.
This is the first play produced by the recently formed Skipp Productions and the intimate OSO Arts Centre in Barnes is a perfect venue to showcase it. Ian Nicholas has produced a wonderfully detailed lakeside house; with the audience in such close proximity, all the items filling the stage can be scrutinised, complete with carefully crafted photographs and wall pictures; it is a delight.
James Pellow has a huge range of roles in his back catalogue and here he is offered a substantial role in size and range; irascible, incidentally funny, opinionated and rude, Norman Thayer loathes the arrival of his 80th Birthday and is obsessed with his own inevitable death. Pellow reaches every corner of Norman, not least the fragility and the onset of dementia; his speech about losing his way back from picking strawberries is utterly heart-breaking. It’s a superb performance.
As the rather younger wife, Ethel, coping with the failing husband, Hilary Harwood is feisty and forthright, but deeply frustrated and silently dreading the future, the perfect match for Pellow. At its heart, this is a love story and as a depiction of ageing and old age, it is an example to be admired.
The complications of the family background come to the fore with the arrival of daughter Chelsea and her new boyfriend. There has been a breakdown between Chelsea and her parents who she accuses of not loving or caring for her – a full explanation isn’t really laid out, but the feud has been bitter, her visit to the family holiday home is an attempt at mending fences. Nova Skipp has the right edge to her voice which shows her bitterness to a T; but blood ties are blood ties. Martin Neely offers a nervy, but sympathetic view of Bill Ray, the new intended (and later) husband; the cracking scene between him and Norman is beautifully played and shows Bill is no pushover. Neely shows his versatility by playing mailman Charlie too; excruciatingly funny and a little sad, he is a hugely effective creation.
The challenge for the play – and probably the reason it isn’t revived often – is the appearance of Billy Ray, Bill’s 13 year old son. Although Mel Moppet doesn’t quite fit the writer’s description, the audience is provided with a wide-eyed, tom-boyish charm with a sharp mind and tongue, but the building relationship between Billy Ray and Norman is played out with great charm.
Jason Moore is a director who deals in detail; the choice of music, the use of the pause, the look of the piece; actors respond, and the result is a beautiful play being given a much-needed revival. Audiences respond by absorbing the sheer warmth of the piece which is played with love and sincerity and the undemonstrative subtext of family rifts, make-ups and old age are presented without fuss. The play should definitely be seen by more people!
Written by: Ernest Thompson
Directed by: Jason Moore
Produced by: Nova Skipp for Skipp Productions
Design by: Ian Nicholas
On Golden Pond plays at OSO Arts Centre until 9 February.
