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Production Dates 8, 9 and 10 November 2001 at 8pm Details
Summary Dr David Mortimore is about to address a neurologist's convention, which will probably earn him a knighthood. While putting the final touches to his speech an old flame, Jane Tate arrives, and announces that their liaison years ago resulted in a son, Leslie, who is downstairs desperate to meet his dad. Frantic to hide this catastrophic news from his wife and the hospital authorities, David is forced to invent not one but two non-existent husbands for Jane and enlist the help of his colleague Hubert Bonney. Events are further complicated by the presence of a police sergeant, a wandering seni le patient, an assortment of matrons (real and otherwise), a syringe full of tranquilizer and the costumes for the hospital pantomime! Greeting from Ray Cooney, the Playwright "Thank you for your lovely letter and forgive this hasty reply but I'm up to my eyes casting my new play Caught In The Net (a sequel to Run For My Wife) and, at the same time, preparing to direct Joan Collins in an American Comedy! I won't be able to manage to get to see It Runs as I'm off to America the moment I've got Miss Collins into the West End. However, please pass on my very best wishes to your company and if they have as much fun as we did in London, they'll have a ball." What They Say 'He builds the comic momentum to a point near delirium...By the end of an hilarious evening...I was definitely rocking in my seat' - Evening Standard 'My glasses steamed up with laugher' - Daily Express 'Critic-proof, recession-proof, possibly even bullet-proof. It's impossible not to enjoy such a well-executed romp' - Time Out 'A Rolls Royce of a farce' - Daily Telegraph Cast
Review "For those familiar with the Magdalene Players and their productions, you will know that of the enormous amount of work that goes on behind the scenes - which is where you usually find David Cooper, managing the technical a spects of the show. All I can say is, "Why don't we see more of him on the stage?". He absolutely shone as Dr Bonney in the group's latest production of It Runs In The Family. A truly believable performance as he led the audience through the character's emotions (confusion, exasperation and finally renouncing). And his facial expressions were excellent! A farce is never an easy play to perform as it relies, much more than most, on timing. David Ashton did a brilliant job in his role of Dr Mortimore, of controlling the pace - and remembering what seemed like a mammoth amount of lines! His look of panic and desperation was perfectly pitched in ever increasing degrees. The whole cast seemed to work extremely well together, maintaining the quick pace that the play needed. It was especially nice to see new members Trevor Pyne and Pauline Kenrick - as well as junior members Aiden Godwin and Lucy Gray - put on such an admirable performance. I must say though, that although I am not the biggest supporter of cast members playing characters of unbelievable ages, Lucy's performance of the Grandmother was estimable. Keep an eye on this one! Aaron Shakespeare deserves a worthy mention for his honourable last-minute stand-in as Dr Connolly. With only three days to learn the lines, he carried off the part extremely well. I also wanted to mention Pat Wilson as the senile(ish) Bill - was there much acting going on there?! (Sorry, Pat - but you really did make me laugh!). Finally, I couldn't finish without a note on the set - again Magdalene Players surpassed themselves! I know the amount of work that goes into making the sets (which are put together by the group members themselves). I particularly enjoyed the subtle snow falling lightly outside the window (although this got a little distracting later on in the performance when you saw the "hand" throwing the said snow!!). And, just one other small point - remember that the audience should be laughing - not the cast, which can prove to be a little off-putting. All in all, however, the show was excellent, with some very, very funny, well-played, well-timed, comedy moments. Well done to everyone involved." Kim Richmond-Bailey Further Information Email Ashtons@ukgateway.net Photographs
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IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY
