Amateur night is another hit

THREE amateur theatre companies teamed up recently to bring a triple bill of short plays to Cumbernauld Theatre at the weekend. The evening, dubbed Amdramtastic, comprised three very different comedies in The Evils of Tobacco, a monologue by Anton Chekhov stage by ACE Productions, One Night With YOu, a comedy by No Mean Company and written by Anne Gray, and a black farce by Andrea McPhail and the Apex Players, titled That Old Black Magic.

Chekhov blends comedy and tragedy in The Evils of Tobacco, directed by Alison Mackenzie, featured Michael Aherne as Nyukhin, the henpecked husband of a boarding-school matron in the small town Russia of around a century ago. On the pretext of delivering a talk on an imporving subject at the local town hall, the presentation implodes ito an outpourin gof supressed emotions from this opressed, emasculated individual. Blending comedy and tragedy, in this Michael Aherne's efforst were commendable. This perfomance was directed by Alison McKenzie with Mr Aherne's fine costume created by Eileen Leonard.

No Mean Company's contribution to the triple bill, One Night With You by Anne Gray, was set in a small Scottish town, sometime in the late 1950's. It was the story of a young man named Archie (Gordon Colquoun), determined to get his end away with sweetheart Maggie (Rachel McCormick) before joining the Army for a stint of National Service. Also featuring Jon McLean, Jo o'Donnell, Duncan Weir, Paul Howitt, Jo Grant and Melanie Gee this was an enjoyable mild sex comedy featuring situations which surely struck a chord with most of the audience. Its throwaway period references proved educational too - at least, I didn't realise Bruce Forsyth had been around qite that long!

The evening was rounded off with That Old Black Magic, a gleefully dark comic tale. Annabelle (Rhonda Thompson), wife of a useless, alcoholic stage magician, The Great Majestica and his dimwitted assistant Tracy (Ann Wilson). Believing they have accidentally killed him, they attempt to fram a local loan shark for his murder, cleaning up on his life insurance into the bargain. Both women gave lively, fun performances. There were some nice touches of characterisation , such as Annabelle's affected accent, prone to slip at times of stress. The oftern ghoulish humour went down well and the question of whether the ladies would get away with it added a welcome element of suspense. Although basically a two-handed play, Robert Grice mad e a brief appearance towards the end, protraying a policeman in a scene which reminded me slightly of The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. This piece was directed by Bob Faichnie.

Overall, Amdramtastic was a good solid display, proving once again that 'amateur' doesn't mean 'shoddy'. Here's hoping those involved continue this developing annual tradition.

Cumbernauld News, Wednesday 22 Feb, 2006