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REVIEW OF HABEAS CORPUS PERFORMED BY THE HASLEMERE THESPIANS By
Mary Bishop Marking
their 70th anniversary , the Haslemere
Thespians tackled a bold play by Alan
Bennett – and pulled it off with gusto to packed houses at the Haslemere
Hall. The
choice of performing Bennett’s Habeas Corpus was a brave one, but all the
actors proved they were up to the task. Set
in the new, permissive society of the 1960s, the play revolves around
society’s determination to put sex and
lust for the body (corpus) before anything else in their lives. This
leads to a lot of confusion and mistaken identities about who fancies who and
when! It’s
a classic slapstick and satire situation and the Thespians did the play
proud. Although
it is difficult to single out a particular starring role, the domestic help,
Mrs Swabb, played by seasoned Thespians actor Jane Hamlyn, was a special
treat. Jane, who has acted with the Thespians for nearly 50 years, held the
whole show together with witty ripostes both on and off stage, leaving the
audience in stiches. Unfortunately, this was probably her last performance
for the Thespians, as she in moving to Rob
Lloyd, who played the lustful Dr Arthur Wicksteed, lived up to his role –
along with his stage wife Muriel {Anna Webb) and stage son (Dennis) Will
Forde. The
special effects department was in its element – with a startling end to the
first half of the play with a realistic hanging of a suicidal patient. The
strings must have been there – but were invisible! All
in all – great performances from everyone and a real tribute to celebrate the
Thespians 70th anniversary. The standard of acting would easily
meet a More
power to your elbow!
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