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| Cast | |
| Caroline | Sarah Hills |
| Young Caroline/Chrissie | Kelly Russell |
| Miss Gainsborough | Sue Higginson |
| Bernard | Mark Campbell |
| Young Bernard/Compton-Miller | Matt Clowry |
| Ridgway [voice] | Tony Donnelly |
| Crew | |
| Stage Manager | Richard Banks |
| Assistant Stage Manager | Roz Betts |
| Set Design | Eleni Koureas |
| Set Construction & Decoration | John Vinnels, Ron Andrews, Peter Smith |
| Set Decoration & Fittings | Richard Banks, Janet Smith, Steve Grubb, Wendy Marsh, Andreas Koureas, Paul Masters, Eleni Koureas |
| Costumes | Wendy Marsh, Aysev Ismail |
| Lighting Design | Eleni Koureas, Jerry McKeon |
| Lighting Rig | Jerry McKeon, Christine McKeon |
| Lighting Operation | Matt Arnold, Dave Capocci |
| Sound | David Murray |
| Properties | Wendy Marsh, Richard Banks, Eleni Koureas |
| Crew | Helen Bezer, Louise Ody, Mariam Schwencke |
| Artwork | Annette Tranter, Andrew Kelly |
With thanks to Tony Donnelly, Jenny Devonshire, Ron Marsh, Dave Masters and Lana Koureas
Review
Power games, sex and sleaze...it must be politics
While Keyboard Skills is about the adulterous activities of a junior minister in a Conservative government, it could be about any politician in any era when the person involved is as ruthlessly ambitious as the MP in the play, writes Roy Atterbury.
Although the work is intended as a comedy, today's world of sleazy politics and gutter journalism takes away a little of the bite and satire that are neatly introduced into the dialogue and action but, because an exploding bomb is involved, it is easy to understand the Minister's blind panic when an evening of lust in Bromley looks like threatening his career and his personal ambitions for power and glory.
A new production of the rarely performed work arrived at the Edward Alderton Theatre in Bexleyheath last week and, with Eleni Koureas making her debut as a director at the venue, it was interesting to note in the programme that she has been enthralled by the play since she first encountered it as a drama student.
Certainly, the structure of the work is quite clever and the writer has avoided a more pedestrian approach by making the MP's wife Caroline (Sarah Hills) the central figure in the storyline with her husband Bernard (Mark Campbell) coming across as a much weaker character.
A series of flashbacks show the wife as an unmarried young girl (played by Kelly Russell) who is learning secretarial skills at an establishment run by the strict, demanding and precise Miss Gainsborough who sits in a chair within a large cardboard container for packets of OMO (remember the washing powder?) - presumably as some kind of modesty shield.
It is the early 1970s when the pupil begins her studies, while also developing an interest in the feminist movement. However, when Miss Gainsborough finds her copy of The Female Eunuch, the teacher makes it clear that Caroline's job is to serve and protect any male employer and ensure that he has "the appearance of excellence."
Caroline meets Bernard, they marry, but she never forgets Miss Gainsborough's teachings. When the MP's world begins to fall apart, Caroline begins a ruthless inquisition of Spanish proportions to find out what he has been up to. In response, Bernard comes up with a string of lies, truths and half-truths that suggest that he is a politician who has learnt his trade well. As he becomes more perturbed, Caroline becomes calmer and stronger.
The play appears to be about a woman who is a feminist at heart but who has been taught to support the man in her life - whatever she may think of him. Bernard, however, is a typical male philanderer who is terrified that the tabloid papers will be after him and he would be lost without his wife at his side.
The writer has taken a perceptive view of male/female relationships and leaves her audiences with plenty of points to consider. And although the play is over-convoluted at times, the EAT production was first class.
Sarah Hills and Mark Campbell handled the main roles with great skill, and Kelly Russell, who was making her debut with the company, has the confidence, stage presence, and acting ability to make a real impact on the world of theatre. Matt Clowry was very impressive as a rather shorter young Bernard, and as another and somewhat obnoxious MP, while his seduction scene with Bernard's wife was a gem of comic acting by both the performers. However, Sue Higginson almost upstaged everyone with her truly brilliant portrayal of the alarmingly haughty and pernickety Miss Gainsborough.
Designed by the director, the clever set managed to convey a sense of sleaze and family bliss at the same time but there were times when the play seemed a bit too clever for its own good.
Roy Atterbury
Bexley Times | 6 April 2006
Photos (c) Paul Lay