PERFECT WEDDING : FAST PACED BEDROOM FARCE COMES TO CASTLE HILL

The audience thoroughly enjoyed itself on opening night with gales of laughter filling the Pavilion Theatre. Only the British do bedroom farce with that certain touch and this script is a wonderful example of the art of adding confusion to confusion in a seemingly logical way. Will it be possible to untie all the knots by the end of the play or will more be tied?

The play opens in the honeymoon suite of a hotel where the bridegroom wakes on his wedding morning, with his fiancée about to arrive any moment, and finds an unknown, very attractive girl in bed beside him. His best man arrives, his fiancée arrives, the girl is hidden in the bathroom pretending to be the best man’s girlfriend, the best man’s real girlfriend has to be kept ignorant of the fact and the chambermaid is coerced into being everyone’s girlfriend. By interval when the bride’s mother arrives chaos has ensued which only escalates in Act Two.

Daniel Vavasour plays Bill, the panicked groom, who has some doubt as to wherever Rachel, his fiancée, is really the perfect partner.                         

Chantal Giorgini plays the straight role of his rather clueless fiancée with Olivia Northcott playing her mother Daphne, wearing a ‘pantomime’ hat, constantly worried the marriage service will be spoilt.

The strongest role belongs to Julie, the chambermaid, played with skill and enthusiasm by Ellen Northcott who gets caught up in the proceedings and tries to sort everything out.

Mark Ritchie is Tom the best man, forced to help his friend and also faced with some alarming revelations in Act 11. The part of the “other woman” Judy played by Samantha Camilleri begins in a small way but takes on a life of its own as more and more secrets are revealed.

The clever set design by James Winters allows the actors to move quickly between rooms and director Jennifer Willison ensures that the actors’ timing works like clockwork, which is so essential in farce.

Friendships and loyalties are tested to the breaking point and it comes to the point where it looks likely that the wedding will be called off…

For a light hearted night at the theatre look no further than the Castle Hill Players production of Robin Hawdon’s PERFECT WEDDING playing at the Pavilion Theatre, Castle Hill until June 17. Performance times – Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8.15 pm and Sundays at 4.30 pm.

 

Perfect Wedding