An intricate, lively farce
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from August 1982.
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The play written by Yorkshire man, Derek Benfield is an intricate lively farce. It revolves around the complications of mistaken identities. It highlights the human foibles of failing to tell the whole truth, rumourmongering and jumping to conclusions usually wrong ones. Thank heaven life is not as complicated as Caught on the Hop would have us believe...or is it?
Graham Stapely plays Phil, an aptly-named errant philanderer. It is his unfortunate penchant for falling in love with beautiful young women, travelling on the top of number 49 buses which causes the avalanche of events. Phil's enthusiasm and energy sets the pace for the other characters who have a difficult time keeping up with him.
The problem he has is how to let his wife know that he has fallen in love with Julie and wants to move out and live with her. Telling his wife, Maggie, that he wants a divorce is the easy part of the exercises: explaining that he intends to live next door adds a little more spice to his life than he can safely handle. Enter his best friend George who has helped him out of sticky situations before.
Jeff Parker gave a very competent performance as George, Phil's long suffering friend. He was hampered by quite a few lines in the script which could only be described as downright "corny". Unfortunately not all farces have a script of the standard of "Chase Me Comrade" or the "Whitehall Farces". The performers can certainly not be faulted for a lack of imagination on the part of the writer.
The best is often left for last but in this case it is the early arrial of Julie played by Linda Hart which throws Phil into the round of scheming machinations which occur in this play. Miss Hart plays the bemused, befuddled, hazy Julie close to perfection. She was by far the most accomplished performer on stage.
Although new to the Cayman drama scene she has worked in Children's theatre in Canada, and is therefore at home on stage. Her performance was marred by an unnecessary tension in the stylised manner in which she moved her hands.
Penney Philips was quietly complacent in the role of the unsuspecting wife, Maggie. She attempts to arrange a dinner party to welcome her new next door neighbours (Julie and Phil) and ends up with an organiser's nightmare. People are moving in and out of her living room so rapidly that it is difficult for even the audience to believe there are only eight characters in this play.
Maggie's greatest disadvantage is undoubtedly Mrs. Puffet, her housekeeper. If only this woman could learn to keep the front door closed. Val Watts portrays this character role with nerve and volume. The part is a caricature of the English working class at its best...or is it worst? The potential comic relief in Mrs. Puffet's came appearances suffered from a lack of good timing and pace which was an overall flaw in the whole production.
However, Characters, appeared at points where they could not fail to add new tensions to an already complicated situation. Such was the case with Phil Thomas and Kate Bowering who handled their roles well.
Finally when it seemed impossible to confuse a thoroughly over complex situation any further who should breeze in through the open front door but Peter Smith, alias Alan for this occasion. Is Maggie having an affair with this debonair stranger? To say more would spoil your enjoyment of the play.
The total production was well executed. The set had the clean, picturesque appearance which is typical of this kind of production. The director Bill Bazelmans achieved a good standard even though he was working with a poor script. Talent is obviously alive and well in the Cayman Drama Society; it is a pity to waste it on unworthy material.
