ACT Reviews 2022-2023 Season

An excellent cast was assembled to fill the wonderfully crafted characters. Cross-dressing Major Courtney, the conman past his prime, was given just the right nervousness and bluster by Mike Wilding. Youth will have its day: as the new age spiv, Pete Blain captured the many facets of the pill-popping cockney. Then there was the gentle giant, “One Round”, the punch drunk ex-boxer, played with such charm by Robert Burton. He created an endearing character. Enter the Romanian hit man, Louis Harvey, whose English is not good, and who keeps mangling words. Cheryl Chamberlain who is a fine actress played Harvey. Changing the gender of the character I’m not sure worked. The dramatic relationships and character development jarred. The male dialogue took on a different meaning. The line, “old ladies give me the penises” did not work the same. Bringing together this group of London’s criminal underworld is the slightly unhinged Professor Marcus. Chris Marriot gave a skilful portrayal of the professor. In every situation he commanded attention, and displayed excellent timing. One of the laugh-out-loud moments was when the crooks hide (squashed) in the under-stairs cupboard and then, when discovered, there was a lovely “Pinter Pause” to be followed by the