Stand and deliver
Thu, 30 July 2009, 08:12 amGordon the Optom1 post in thread
Stand and deliver
Thu, 30 July 2009, 08:12 amIn an English North Country hospital, nymphomaniac Nurse Walker (Ruth Strutt) invites the people in the hospital waiting room - the audience – to join her for a week in her maternity ward. A half-dressed Walker is chased (and it is long time since she was chaste) by a doctor (Jerome Curtis) in search of his daily pick-me-up. Panic ensues when the sour-faced Sister Mitchell (Amanda Minutillo) arrives on the scene.
The two streetwise cleaners (LaVerne Kirton, Sallie Ketteringham), who have a poor comprehension of medical terminology, prepare for the arrival of four new, but very different patients.
Lizzie (Sarah Daniels) is an old hand – or should that be vagina? - At having babies. Michelle (Deborah Gordon) who arrives with her domineering mother (Carey Stewart) has discovered the bad side if Alco pops. Then there is Nicola (Aimee Newton) who has read every book on the subject, but not understood a word. Finally, there is the patient from hell, stuck-up, yuppie, bitch ‘Viv’ (Kirsty MacDonald) who wants the hospital and her husband to be at her beck and call.
Andrew Watson, Stuart Fellows, Emma O’Sullivan and Robert Rhode play other family members and ‘suffering’ fathers-to-be.
French, award-winning director, Jean-Marie Pasquier has captured the saucy atmosphere of this play beautifully. It is not a farce, but rather a situation comedy along the lines of ‘Carry on nurse’ but with a much funnier script and well constructed story, with brief passages of poignancy to bring variety.
The set is truly amazing; it is a fully equipped ward for four patients, where the sign on the door says ‘Push, push again and push harder’.
A small niggle, there was a false ending at the end of both acts where the audience were surprised, after quite a few seconds, to see the lights come back on and the dialogue recommence. Perhaps a little tighter here.
Astonishingly, half of the cast in this maternity ward are near virgins, from an acting perspective, but the performances are extremely good, with superb ‘delivery’. Excellent performances from Ruth and Kirsty, with strong backing from the rest of the cast.
The bawdy jokes come thick and fast, definitely adult humour, with situations which will be readily recognised by every mother. An extremely funny and well presented show.
In an English North Country hospital, nymphomaniac Nurse Walker (Ruth Strutt) invites the people in the hospital waiting room - the audience – to join her for a week in her maternity ward. A half-dressed Walker is chased (and it is long time since she was chaste) by a doctor (Jerome Curtis) in search of his daily pick-me-up. Panic ensues when the sour-faced Sister Mitchell (Amanda Minutillo) arrives on the scene.
The two streetwise cleaners (LaVerne Kirton, Sallie Ketteringham), who have a poor comprehension of medical terminology, prepare for the arrival of four new, but very different patients.
Lizzie (Sarah Daniels) is an old hand – or should that be vagina? - At having babies. Michelle (Deborah Gordon) who arrives with her domineering mother (Carey Stewart) has discovered the bad side if Alco pops. Then there is Nicola (Aimee Newton) who has read every book on the subject, but not understood a word. Finally, there is the patient from hell, stuck-up, yuppie, bitch ‘Viv’ (Kirsty MacDonald) who wants the hospital and her husband to be at her beck and call.
Andrew Watson, Stuart Fellows, Emma O’Sullivan and Robert Rhode play other family members and ‘suffering’ fathers-to-be.
French, award-winning director, Jean-Marie Pasquier has captured the saucy atmosphere of this play beautifully. It is not a farce, but rather a situation comedy along the lines of ‘Carry on nurse’ but with a much funnier script and well constructed story, with brief passages of poignancy to bring variety.
The set is truly amazing; it is a fully equipped ward for four patients, where the sign on the door says ‘Push, push again and push harder’.
A small niggle, there was a false ending at the end of both acts where the audience were surprised, after quite a few seconds, to see the lights come back on and the dialogue recommence. Perhaps a little tighter here.
Astonishingly, half of the cast in this maternity ward are near virgins, from an acting perspective, but the performances are extremely good, with superb ‘delivery’. Excellent performances from Ruth and Kirsty, with strong backing from the rest of the cast.
The bawdy jokes come thick and fast, definitely adult humour, with situations which will be readily recognised by every mother. An extremely funny and well presented show.