TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT

Lighthouse, Poole

FIRST a best selling novel, then a musical and now a comedy play, Graham Greene’s masterly fictional work is famous for its wonderfully rich characters and beautifully crafted storyline.

This Creative Cow production contains all the ingredients for cooking up a tasty piece of theatre in which four actors take on a variety of different roles, changing accents and even sex in the blink of an eye, often all simultaneously playing the same character at the same time, an astonishing concept.

When Henry, a nerdish retired bank manager attends the funeral of his mother, he encounters his Aunt Augusta, a lady of considerable character, who soon gathers him into her orbit and takes him on a life-changing journey around the world.

The four actors – three men and one woman, all dressed identically in pin-stripe suits and bowlers, rapidly swop roles on a fixed set as they deal with international espionage, shady characters and dodgy deals in a fast moving comedy that is part dialogue and part narrative.

Giles Havergal’s adaptation nicely captures the essence of the novel with its eccentricities and convoluted plot in an original drama that keeps the audience on its toes the whole time as they take part in Aunt Augusta’s adventure and finally learn her secret past.

Amanda Knott’s direction keeps the pace going and together with the excellent cast, create a unique slant on theatre production which continues for the rest of the week as part of a national tour.

MARION COX