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Review

Two One-Act Plays, Jack Snell Productions, Kinson Community Centre.

A Cream Cracker Under the Settee features 75 year-old Doris, who has fallen while dusting a picture and, as she lies helpless, reflects on the ups and downs of her life and the reality of the Old People’s Home that seems her fate.

Alan Bennett’s way with words, and his ability to really get under the skin of his characters, makes this a poignant and moving piece – and in Virginia Harrington director Jack Snell has found the perfect actress to make us empathise with Doris and her plight. Her movement is, of necessity, restricted so she has to convey everything using only her voice and facial expressions, and she does so admirably.

Shelagh Stephenson’s Five Kinds of Silence centres round a family where abuse is the norm, and illustrates how such things may be perpetuated through the generations.

Once again Jack Snell’s excellent direction comes to the fore and there are outstanding performances from Jack himself, playing control freak Billy, Sheila Dove (his wife, Mary), Denise King (his daughter, Susan), and B J Miller (Janet, his other daughter). All give totally realistic performances that bring this profoundly thought-provoking play all too realistically to life.

Linda Kirkman

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