Mark Raynor, Iona Campbell, Georgina Rose in Noel Coward’s Stll Life. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Iona Campbell, Jonny Campbell, Jack Conway, Mary Cooper, Barney Eliot, Reuben Green, Mark Raynor, Georgina Rose, Elena Spiegl, Katherine Wright.
With the strains of Noel Coward’s I Went to a Marvellous Party greeting the audience at the University of Liverpool’s intimate theatre space, the stage was set for a renaissance of the great actor and playwrights work performed by L.U.D.S, one of the two amateur dramatic societies that give young budding actors their first real taste of life in front of an audience. Their chosen piece to start their 2012-13 season off was the sublime affair of several hearts, Still Life.
The play become one of the cinematic greats of its time in the re-titled Brief Encounter and as each performer took the stage in various guises and delivered their faultless lines, it may have been possible to hear one of the raconteurs of British Cinema nodding his head vigorously in heavy approval at the way the entire cast conducted themselves and who were also a great credit to the University’s ever increasing demanding plays.
The spotlight may well have fallen squarely on the two lead actors, the stiff upper lipped Mark Raynor, portraying the upstanding Dr. Alec Harvey and the wonderful Iona Campbell as the conventional Laura Jesson. In a play with some outstanding performances, you have to give Ms. Campbell incredible credit for portraying the tempted housewife with such incredible depth of reserve and stunning ability.
Alongside the two main leads, other actors more than held their own in a play that could have easily seen them swallowed up and lost in the absorbing action. Georgina Rose as the talkative but astute Dolly Messiters was in fine form and it has been a loss to the University’s Drama Society that she has been out of the country, certainly Ms. Rose has the acting ability to take it further should she wish. The same must be said for Barney Eliot. Mr. Eliot thrilled audiences with his portrayal of Faustus in the 2011-12 season and he proved that as well as being more than a match for Christopher Marlowe, he is able to portray men of genuine warmth, affection and humour. His scenes with Elena Spiegl were a dream to watch and would have even put the old master to shame.
A fabulous start to The University of Liverpool’s drama productions and to kick start it with a much under-used play like Still Life deserves credit all round.
Ian D. Hall