THERE was a quality about this play that evoked a great deal of pathos for almost all of the leading characters yet still managed to provoke a large number of laughs.
Although set against the backdrop of a Sunday village cricket match, the play seem
s to be more about relationships and the dynamics between very different personalities.
The team's captain is the pompous, self-absorbed and annoyingly anal Roger (well portrayed by David Hart), who casts himself as the great organiser, when in fact he spends most of his time in a flap and calling upon his amazingly patient wife Miriam (Sue Almond) to bail him out.
Roger is getting things together for a big clash against a team that contains 'six genuine Australians' who are looking for revenge after a previous defeat – and his nerves are seemingly shredded so much he continually asks: "Have you got a cigarette, I've given up".
Listening to Sue Almond on stage I could visualise Brenda Blethyn, who played the same character when Richard Harris's play was adapted into a successful TV series in the early 1990s, so convincing was her performance as the put-upon and unappreciated wife.
Truths began to surface as the game progressed and the audience were given more understanding of the marital problems of the players and their wives, which in one case culminated in a real display of burning passion as one vengeful wife set fire to her spouse's car.
The only unmarried player was Alex, a shallow snob, but the best batsmen, played by Ashley Dyer who completely ignored his dippy pole-dancer girlfriend Sharon, a good comic turn by Alison Hickford.
Smarmy Dennis (Jim Morgan) turned out to be a sad man who exaggerated his successes to make himself more popular, Ginnie's (Fennella Simmons) assumptions about the unfaithfulness of her husband Bob (Alan Davison) turned out to be misguided and of course Roger had a skeleton in his marital cupboard which was eventually revealed.
The most likeable and funny character was Maggie (Jane Baillie) who produced many of the comedy highlights, although this is not to detract from the contribution of the rest of the cast.
Together with her husband Kevin (Andy Parkhurst) they seemed to get most of the laughs.
When she asked what a roller was he replied: "A big round thing that flattens everything in its path – a bit like you really."
For some there was a happy ending, for others not so happy, but all the way through the cast kept you wanting to know more, while laughing along the way.
