Seen at Cumbernauld Theatre last week, "Three of a Kind" was a superb showcase for home-grown talent, with Apex shining in productions of Harry Glass' "Truth, Beauty and Contact Lenses" and Anne Gray's "It Could Be You!" and "Pictures of the Past".
The triple bill began with "It Could Be You!", Anne's tale of family strife, an unwanted guest and a lottery "win".
Brothers John (Derek Green) and Brian (Allan McPhail) are reunited by a "Surprise Surprise"-style TV show. But Brian quickly outstays his welcome, and John, wife Margaret (Lynn Robertson) and daughter Hayley (Leigh Pirret) need a way to evict their guest.
Although light on plot, "It Could Be You!" had plenty of clever touches, including good use of characters directly addressing the audience to set the scene, and provided a witty platform for its cast's talents.
Allan McPhail's tight-fisted Brian was a superb comic creation, and Lynn Robertson and Leigh Pirret both delivered engagingly natural performances, making the most of their characters' best lines. Pamela McPhail provided a voice over as the lottery announcer, and Anne Gray made a brief but hilarious appearance as Brian's frightful wife, Wynona.
Star of this particular play, though, was Derek Green, resplendent in a giant shiny suit and weighing in with a larger-than-life comic performance that would have done the late, great Lex McLean proud. Derek also doubled up as director.
If "It Could Be You!" was a light starter, "Pictures of the Past" was a far more substantial main course.
This tale of a threatened cinema and a wartime romance is already an award-winner - and it's not hard to see why.
As directed by Anne Gray herself, "Pictures of the Past" was a memorable and moving piece of theatre, and one which deserves to find a much wider audience.
Packed with incident and emotional depth, it switched effortlessly from the present day to the war years of 1939 to 1942, sealing its success with a few twists along the way.
Apex regular Carol Finlay was in fine form as Helen Davis, owner of the Classic Cinema, with James Keenan making a convincing octogenarian as the mysterious "Old Man".
Stephanie Dodds and Drew Anderson, playing Lizzie and the Young Man, worked well together in a pair of strong dramatic roles, and Betty Naismith added yet another sterling performance to her long list as aide Harriet Barton.
The stand-out performance here came from Brenda White, who was quite outstanding as cinema worker Elaine. Brenda's charming performance was all the more remarkable considering it was her first stage appearance. A place among Apex's front line of talent clearly beckons.
Completing the bill was Harry Glass' "Truth, Beauty and Contact Lenses", snappily directed by Joe Thomson and featuring Roy White, Anne Gray, Leigh Pirret, James Keenan and Lynn Robertson.
Fast-paced and full of wisecracks and wry observations, Harry's short comedy took a cynical and stylised look at the battle of the sexes, with over-confident menfolk getting just their just desserts at the hands of the fairer sex.
Lynn was perfectly in tune with the sharp tone of the play, turning from dissatisfied housewife to manipulative would-be employee to assured businesswoman with real flair, while Anne reinforced her reputation as a talented comedienne with her roles as hotel barmaid and officious job centre worker.
Even against such strong competition, Leigh Pirret shone as a secretary with attitude and an extremely frosty building boss.
James Keenan showed his versatility as the cocky husband who soon finds he's no match for the female of the species, and newcomer Roy White, in the second of the night's sparkling debuts, conjured up one of the night's most unforgettable characters with his nightmare boss from hell.
Kudos must also go to the technical crew, whose well-judged use of sound, lighting, sets and props added immeasurably to another winner from Apex.
Cumbernauld News, 12 February 1997