The Hound AND the Bear

I went to Attic's double bill last Saturday with a group and we loved them both. It seems from the website though that all the attention - and very little of it from members of the audience - is concentrated on the Hound.
Which is a pity because the Bear is very palatable Chekhov. I thought Stephen was good as the Bear but Angelique Malcolm's performance was excellent. She made Helena Popov, a not-all-that-grieving widow, totally believable, swinging from melodramatic mooning about her unlovable dead mate to practical fury at the intrusion into her enjoyable melancholy by Smirnov demanding payment of a debt. I thought Angelique very good in Stephen's production of 'A Christmas Carol' but her Helena is as good as I've seen. 'The Bear' shows how she can really hit the heights with a top director. The scene in which Smirnov is showing her how to use a pistol in order to have a duel was great comedy, beautifully directed, beautifully played.
Of course the Hound is delightful but I felt that only Ben Russell (Simon Gascoyne) was quite comfortable with the earnest melodrama that the play needs to be absolutely farcically funny. There's no question that the rest of the cast of the play within the play gave good performances but they seemed to me to be just a tad uncomfortable with the need for committed and idiotic seriousness.
I except from these comments Andie Wafter who as Mrs Drudge was unwaveringly brilliant.
I note from an early reviewer that there were some backstage problems on the night he went. Not on Saturday; backstage was so good, the sound and lighting cues so perfectly handled that it took me a day to even realise there'd been sound and light. Top marks to SM Michael McAllan and his crew.
I'm going at least once more. I think the cast of Hound after a couple of shows will have settled up to the top performer and once is never enough for Stoppard.
If the 'Bear' is still as good I will be a perfectly happy playgoer.
Di Day