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Review
From
the Leamington Courier:
Players
prove again that who dares, wins
Cubbington
Players have a proud reputation for daring to tackle difficult
plays. A while ago they produced Arthur Miller's The Crucible. At the
weekend it was Peter Schaffer's Amadeus.
Imagination
is another quality the group possesses. How else could they mount on
a tiny village hall stage the 14 scenes required ranging from a
masonic lodge to a music hall? They did it by drawing a curtain,
moving stools and a much travelled cake stand.
You
could be excused for regarding Amadeus as a typical example of the
period we went through when character assassination was all the rage
- the bigger they are the harder they fall. Mozart played billiards
and was buried in a pauper's grave; therefore he must have been a
lecherous, foul-mouthed lout. We have suffered a lot from poetic licence.
Cubbington
Players, directed by Mike Calvert, nevertheless made of Amadeus a
highly successful production thanks to excellent casting and fine
acting. Towering over everything was Paul McClean's Salieri, who,
starting as a mixture of Rigsby and Bob Hope, soon moved into a
powerful interpretation of the jealous court composer. Graham Kerr's
Mozart leaned heavily on the film version, but again was supremely convincing.
They
were ably supported by the rest of the cast, especially Katy Courage
as Constanze, Mozart's wife.
The
Players will lose money on this production - hire of the costumes
cost £400 - but will recover with their pantomime, Jack and the
Beanstalk. This will be followed in May by a less ambitious play
because it will be all hands to the pump for next October's major
Shakespearean production of The Merry Wives of Windsor.
How
do they do that?
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Gallery
Click
on thumbnail for larger picture
|
The
Royal Chamberlain (Joseph Hughes) and The Prefect of the Imperial
Library (Bob Carter) |
Antonio
Salieri (Paul McClean), flanked by The Venticelli (Chris Squire and
Hazel Blenkinsop) |
Antonio
Salieri (Paul McClean) |
|
Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart (Graham Kerr) |
Constanze
Weber (Katy Courage) weeps over the body of Mozart (Graham Kerr) |
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