By Harry Mottram: With just hours to go before the actors of Axbridge Community Theatre (ACT) tread the boards in the town hall, new colour photographs by Adam Clutterbuck have been published adding period detail to the production. Set in a 1950s seaside boarding house the theatre group’s production crew have built an authentic set with kitsch floral wallpaper, a clunky brown teapot and even a serving hatch. All thanks to the team of Dave Moore, John Dunstone, Stella Moore and set designer David Parkin who have lovingly recreated Meg’s dining room in her boarding house where the drama unfolds.
Directed by John Bailey (who directed the Axbridge Pageant) Harold Pinter’s dark comedy with menace play concerns the occupants of the boarding house and in particular the fate of former pianist Stanley who is tormented by two strangers during a party. No spoilers but the drama usually leaves an audience with more questions than answers when the final curtain falls on The Birthday Party.
Written in the early 1950s the play was influenced by Pinter’s experiences as a lad during the Blitz, being bullied at school and of his attempts to avoid National Service as a conscientious objector.
Also caught in Adam’s photos are the costumes assembled by Diane and Sonia including 1950s party dresses, a wicker shopping basket and Meg’s apron or pinnie. It all goes to create an evocative if somewhat dark atmosphere for one of Harold Pinter’s earliest plays.
Tickets are available at the Chemist and Post Office or online as www.ticketsource.co.uk/axbridgecommunitytheatre or by phoning 07764 232980.
The cast features Will Vero, Sian Tutill, Peter Honeyands, Hannah Strohmeier, Phil Saunders and Tony Wilson. A programme will be on sale on the night for £1 and there will be a licensed bar. The Birthday Party runs from Wednesday 29th March to Saturday 1st April, 2023, nightly at 7.30pm.
See Adam’s work at https://www.adamclutterbuckphotography.com/
For more on ACT: https://sites.google.com/site/axcomtheatre/home
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