AdHoc Theatre

New drama group makes impact with Wilde debut
- Gazette & Herald 3 August 2006

Lord Arthur Savile's Crime Ad hoc Devizes Wharf Theatre NEWLY-formed Ad Hoc theatre group chose a tricky drama for their debut at the Wharf. Oscar Wilde's preposterous comedy needs the lightest of touches and on the whole this production succeeded with enthusiastic performances and admirable pace and timing. The players also deserve Oscars for immaculately preserving their cool while the audience sweltered in the sauna that was the Wharf auditorium on a steaming hot Wednesday night. The story, in a nutshell, is that young Lord Arthur Savile, a blameless young man, about to be married, is pressured by his mother-in-law-to-be into having his palm read by society's latest fad Mr Podgers. The cheiromantist claims to see a murder in the future of his Lordship's hand. By a strangely twisted logic Lord Arthur decides he must commit his murder before his marriage to save his bride from the shame of it all, should he be caught. With his inspirational Jeeves-like butler Baines, and later the mad anarchist Herr Winkelkopf, he plots' and schemes and signally fails to harm so much as a fly. Matthew Nation and Graham Forrester-Paton create a well-honed double act as the young master and his loyal servant. They act with a con­ viction that forces the suspension of disbelief through the ludicrous plot. There is an equally confident and spirited performance from Amanda Merchant as Sybil Merton, Arthur's fiancée. Jeffrey Hughes brims over with enthusiasm as the gloriously incompetent anarchist, wild haired, wide eyed and irresistible. There are delightfully dotty performances from Lord Arthur's assorted relatives - Paul Batson as the Dean of Paddington and Jennifer Lane and Leah Brooks as his aunts. Merrily Powell tackles the formidable mother-in-law role of Lady Julia Merton, a Lady Bracknell-like force, with vigour and could afford to add even more emphasis to some of Wilde's well known aphorisms. David Wood is an oily villain as the palmist. Sarah Davis makes the most of her role as the maid who catches the butler's eye.   Jo Bayne.