Edward Alderton Theatre Home | News | This Season | Next Season | Bookings | Auditions | Members | Archive | History | Location | Links | Contact Us   The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds by Paul Zindel Directed by Colin Hill 22-29 November 1986 (7 performances) Beatrice is the mother of two very different daughters, both beyond her control and the guardian of Nanny, an aged crone, who is beyond her patience. Her struggle to cope with the problems of her life is a fascinating study of someone striving to find a way out of the trap she has slid into... Cast Tilly  Susan Hampton Beatrice Jane Darling Ruth Ruth Carraway Nanny Sue Higginson Janice Vickery Andrea Hampton Crew Stage Manager Paul Bolton  Assistant Stage Manager Andrea Hampton Set Design Colin Hill Set Construction Colin Hill, Paul Bolton Properties Eleanor McEnery Lighting  Tim Hewitt Sound Christopher La Roche   Review A stunning play of great impact Anyone going to the Edward Alderton Theatre in Bexleyheath this week to see The Effect Of Gamma Rays On Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds could be forgiven for thinking they might see a very avant-garde production or even that they should be going to a lecture in the local WI hall. They would, however, be very wrong. For the play, by Paul Zindel, is an excellent exercise in dramatic theatre which places great demands in its small cast, but which, if carefully interpreted, can have a stunning and lasting impact. Jane Darling plays Beatrice, a women supporting herself and her two daughters by caring unmercifully for a decrepit old crone. Her performance has to display the emotions of a women trapped and tortured by her own eccentricity and the cruel hand that life has dealt her. Jane does so admirably and with impressive technique, demonstrating jealousy when she should be proud, derision instead of praise and hurtfulness instead of love. If she fails to demonstrate the thin dividing line between eccentricity and lunacy then only the severest of critics would argue with her, for this is a performance of great stature which fully deserves the highest praise. The strength of Colin Hill's direction is vividly demonstrated by the performances of the others, all of whom could easily be overwhelmed by such a strong central character but who are clearly not. Susan Hampton is utterly convincing as daughter Tilly, winning a school science prize for a gamma ray experiment with marigolds — but still failing to find the love and recognition she searches for. And Ruth Carraway, as her sister Ruth, provides a lively characterisation of impressive maturity. As the old crone, Sue Higginson will never say more by saying so little. Andrea Hampton is worth the ticket price alone for her excellent cameo as Janice Vickery. Heavy going for some perhaps, but certainly not for those who like their theatre with its nerve-ends exposed. Colin Shaw Kentish Times | 27 November 1986