Edward Alderton Theatre Home | News | This Season | Next Season | Bookings | Auditions | Members | Archive | History | Location | Links | Contact Us   Blue Remembered Hills by Dennis Potter Directed by Paul Jennings 16-23 May 1992 (7 performances) On an idyllic summer afternoon in the summer of 1943, a group of children play in the West Country hills, fields and forests. With no adults around, they indulge in spontaneous games and horseplay - sometimes echoing the distant war, at other times revealing their own insecurities and petty vindictiveness. But as they tease, fantasize and fight the day away, their innocence is about to be destroyed forever... Cast Angela Roz Betts Audrey Maureen Hardwen Peter Keith King Donald Duck Mike Higginson Willie Tony Donnelly Raymond David Hampton John Peter Richardson Crew Stage Manager Allison Henderson Assistant Stage Managers Janet Hampton, Kim Kingley Set Design Paul Jennings Set Construction Paul Jennings, Alan Webster, Derek Goulding, Brian Warner Costumes Freda Philips Lighting  Tim Hewitt Sound Alan Webster Review Cruel society of the young reflects the adult years to come Blue Remembered Hills opens with a young boy running through the woods, arms outstretched as he plays at being a fighter pilot. But the child in baggy shorts and Fair Isle sweater is, in fact, an adult: in Dennis Potter's play a group of West Country youngsters who laugh, fight and cry their way through a hot summer day in 1943 are all portrayed by adults. The Edward Alderton Theatre at Bexleyheath is presenting the drama this week in a very fine production directed by Paul Jennings. First produced for television, Blue Remembered Hills is fairly brief and comprises a series of short scenes. Paul Jennings has marshalled a strong cast which has captured the essential 'gang' spirit of the children, although at times they lack some of the innocent solemnity and seriousness the under-l0s can display. The boys - Keith King, Tony Donnelly, David Hampton and Peter Richardson - are your average rag-tag bunch who suffer the presence of the girls, flirty Angela (Roz Betts) and plain but feisty Audrey (Maureen Hardwen). On the periphery of the group is the introverted Donald (an excellent performance by Mike Higginson), ridiculed by the others and suffering psychological problems as a result of his father's capture by the Japanese and his mother's implied loose morality. Taking to playing with matches in the barn, Donald becomes the tragic focus of the play. The production builds very well to a climax in which the tears of the actors are convincingly those of children. The set design, construction and costumes are excellent. Continues until this Saturday. Darryl McCarthy Kentish Times | 21 May 1992