Chris Eldon Lee reviews ‘The Card’, which is at Fenton Town Hall until Saturday 9th July.
This wonderfully celebratory piece of theatre has a great deal going for it … not least, the brilliant (if obvious) casting of the fabulous Gareth Cassidy as Denry Machin, ‘The Card’ himself. This man is the ultimate comedy character actor. He just has a way of endearing himself to audiences, totally gaining our admiration and confidence so that he can do what the hell he likes with us. If we don’t quite realise it’s time to applaud, he tells us to. And we do, heartily.
He also has the inventive ability to pull together any loose strings – to smooth over tiny ‘moments’ – which is vital in a production of this size and complexity; leaving the audience absolutely none the wiser. The Claybody Theatre cast also have Deborah McAndrew’s playful stage adaptation of Arnold Bennett’s 1911 novel and Conrad Nelson’s highly entertaining direction to luxuriate in.
We are in the voluminous ballroom of Fenton Town Hall (standing in for Bennett’s fictional Bursley), which Nelson fills with knots of enthusiastic extras, a lively Town Band, a secret pianist (it took me ages to find her) and seven top notch professional actors, doubling up for all they are worth. The friendly first night audience filled the two long sides.
A ballroom suggests dancing, of course, and it is here that our hero Denry Machin makes his first fiver by winning a bet that he can charm the glamourous Countess of Chell (the delightful Molly Roberts) into dancing with him. He even makes her laugh.
And so begins a cavalcade of comic scenes, as Machin makes the grade … rising from meagre rags to mayoral robes in no time at all. The highlight has to be Machin’s efforts to move his cantankerous mother (played by the full, bushy bearded Howard Chadwick) from her hovel to the nice house on the hill he has bought for her. Chadwick is hilarious in his portrayal of the recalcitrant old woman and Cassidy dives into the absurd cameo of a magnificently moustachioed, one eyed Australian with great gusto as he eggs her into it. And, yes he does have corks round his hat. This show is not in the least afraid of corn and cliché.
Machin’s fiscal antics clearly meet with the approval of an audience struggling with the present economic squeeze and there is indeed a touch of Rishi Sunak about him as he pulls a succession of monetary rabbits out of his hat … each wittily accompanied by the sound of a rising swanee whistle.
The performance throughout is memorable. The Bursley town band (actually The Acceler8 Band from Crewe) is spot on. Nelson employs them expertly to accompany a runaway carriage with the ‘William Tell Overture’ and an office scene with Leroy Anderson’s ‘Typewriter’ tune. Nor do they just sit and play. They, and the posse of community support actors, swirl effortlessly through the action. You never know where they are going appear from next.
Bennett was affectionately taking the rise out of his five home towns; sending up local politicians and predicting the monetarisation of football. (If one wants to climb the social ladder one has to have an abundance of ‘dash’. Calculated philanthropy is the road to status and success). But he also populated his stories with the warmth of cordial community spirit. And if he’d been at the Fenton Town Hall ballroom last night, he would have been absolutely delighted to see his century-old philosophy expounded so entertainingly and with such deep respect.
‘The Card’ is more than a play, it’s a unique occasion. Don’t miss it.