Three for the price of one

Community theatre group's entertaining one-act plays on tour

Community of Hungerford Theatre Company: Love Triangle 2, at the Royal British Legion, Hungerford, on Saturday, October 8

As part of their autumn tour programme, CHTC presented three one-act plays united by the theme of Love Triangle.

First up was Lunch Hour, by John Mortimer, which presented a man and a woman meeting clandestinely for an hour in a small hotel in Kings Cross.

An argument develops between them when she gets upset by the elaborate story he has woven to the hotel manageress to justify the brief rental. Interestingly played by Rouska Westall and Neil Padgen as the couple, you wouldn't think he needed to bother as, in 1961, rooms in that area were constantly being let on an hourly basis… or so I'm reliably informed.

Euridice, by Sarah Ruhl, was much more substantial fare, based on the Greek mythology tales of Orpheus and Euridice in the underworld.

This very well-staged production by the Hungerford Youth Theatre gave us a modernised version of the ancient Greek tale with Orpheus playing a guitar instead of a lyre and Euridice visiting an apartment block.

A very long one-act play, it was sustained throughout by a good pace, clever lighting, sound and prop effects; the result of hard work, I suspect, by director Hoffi Munt and the tour production team.

Rebekah Spencer, Caitlin Gregory and Chris Nilsson did well in the leading parts. George Evans as the father, a Ruhl-invented character, was very good indeed. Eight young actors as 'Stones', a sort of modern Greek chorus, were well-choreographed and acted brightly throughout.

The last play, Countdown by Alan Ayckbourn, featured Tessa Brown and Neil Padgen as a long-married couple speaking their thoughts out loud, in tandem with what they were really saying to each other.

It was quite funny, but, given it was very short, may have worked better presented as a follow-on to the first play, allowing just one interval instead of two and letting the more substantial Euridice fill out the second half of the programme.

In any event, this was a thoroughly entertaining evening with a most impressive youth theatre production.

DEREK ANSELL