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Seasons in the Sun
The song goes “. . . We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun. . .” and there was joy and fun aplenty in Stan Higgins’ production at Harare’s Reps Theatre.
The only small quibbles I had were that it was a little short, the curtain calls could have been better organised and the programme needed more information about who was singing what song.
All the favourites were there from Doris Day’s “Que Sera, Sera” from the 1950’s through to the now late Michael Jackson and Donny Osmond in the 1970’s, and of course, not forgetting The Beatles and Abba.
The technical side was, as always, excellent with imaginative sets (Linda Hyde) beautiful costumes (Aileen Taylor) and Musical Direction (Iona Jones).
In a large cast which included some very good young dancers from the June Cloete Academy of Dance — ‘Miss June’ also contributed some of the excellent choreography with ‘Tara and Les Girls’, there were some very talented new faces amongst the singers and amusing introductions to the songs by Erin Cooper, Marc Thomas and a “baddie,” gangster type (George Gukuta).
All in all an excellent evening’s entertainment which ended it’s run last night with no possibility of an extension. I hope “Seasons” played to full houses for its run. It deserved it. I look forward to seeing more such productions from this team.
Hay Fever
My press deadline being what it is (Tuesday) and because he wanted a review in this newspaper timeously, director Zane E Lucas invited me to attend a final dress rehearsal on Monday 22nd February.
Hay Fever opened on 25 February and runs to 13 March in Harare’s Reps Theatre Upstairs.
Written by Noel Coward in 1925, Hay Fever is a witty, entertaining light comedy by a master of the genre.
At over eighty years of age, the play is as fresh and timeless as ever.
The play takes place in a British country house and deals with the attitudes and obsessive behaviour of four eccentric members of the Bliss family when they each invite a personal guest to spend the weekend.
Full of delicately handled misunderstanding, and “double entendres,” the play sparkles with superb dialogue all the way through. I spent my time in a ripple of smiling amusement with more than a couple of outright laughs.
In what must be a short review—the press deadline looms — I must congratulate the whole cast on truly excellent performances; Lucas for his sure, light touch deicing the high comedy moments so superbly and for his splendid variation in pacing the production. It was little short of perfection. Funki created an excellent set design in a small space and the technical side of things was as excellent as expected.
Don’t miss Hay Fever, you’ll miss a theatrical treat if you do.
BY SUSAN HAINS
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