L-R: Jordon Navratil, Chris McBeath and Meaghan Chenosky
Chris McBeath and Jordon Navratil

 

Hay FeverUnited Players
Hay Fever by Noël Coward

Dates and Venue 2 – 25 September 2011, 8pm | Jericho Arts Centre

Reviewer Ed Farolan

This was indeed an excellent production with wacky characters only a playwright like Coward could concoct. And the actors delivered this zany wackiness as Coward intended. The audience couldn't stop laughing from beginning to end.

When you have a seasoned director like William Davis, and superb actors like Meaghan Chenosky as Sorell, Christopher Cook as Sandy, Rebecca Husain as Jackie, Chris McBeath as Judith, Jordon Navratil as Simon, Melissa Oei as Myra, Jack Rigg as David, Thomas Saunders as Richard, and Nina Shoroplova as Clara, you're sure to have a hit. And this production was indeed a hit on opening night.

Costumes by Catherine Carr reflected he sophisticated elegance of the era between the two world wars. Lighting by Mandi Lau and Sound design by David Kozak were perfectly timed. This comedy was inspired by a weekend Coward spent at the house of the actor Laurette Taylor. This is in the opinion of critics the best comedy written by Coward and it surely delighed and entertained us.

When one talks of community theatre, the reaction is normally something like "That's amateur theatre!" or "I'm going to waste my time watching those amateurs."

Well, that's not the case with United Players. Despite the "community" aspect attached to it, I would say they are professional. Even if most of the actors in this play are not members of Equity, they've been well-trained, coming from excellent theatre programmes of UBC, Capilano, Studio 58, and other Acting studios in the greater Vancouver area.. In the years I've been reviewing, productions have become more professional and Community Theatre, especially United Players, has reached the level of near excellence that one expects from professional theatre.

This production is UP's season opener and before the show started, Andree Karas appealed for more subscribers, hoping to reach the magic 1000th subscription.

 

 

2011 Ed Farolan