The Plaza in Romsey was the venue for the Theatre Goers group March 12th excursion. Many will remember the Ealing comedy of 1955 starring Alec Guinness, and we were interested to see how the plot would translate to the stage. 

The two main protagonists were excellently played by Meriel Shepherd and Matthew Ellison, while  the gang members were carefully chosen as contrasting types and were also very convincing. Impressive choreography ensured that the actors moved easily and without mishap around the single set, and much physical comedy was created in this way. We were all agog to see if the instruments would actually be played, and we were not disappointed!

Mention must be made of the cleverly contrived set, which allowed escapes through windows, crawling across roofs and the disposal of bodies to be  achieved almost naturally. The creation of three different rooms in a split set also worked well.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable show: once again RAODS has given us great entertainment. 

Sheila Charisse