Edward Alderton Theatre Home | News | This Season | Next Season | Bookings | Auditions | Members | Archive | History | Location | Links | Noticeboard | Trailers | Awards | Newsletters | Contact Us New York Stories by David Mamet and Pamela Reeves Directed by Stephanie David and Helen Banks 9 -16 April 2011 (7 performances) dedicated to the memory of matt clowry From the mating habits of ducks in Central Park to the appalling events of 9/11, two one-act plays that highlight the diversity of life in the Big Apple... The Duck Variations by David Mamet directed by Stephanie David Cast George Tony Donnelly Emil Gary Heron Crew Assistant Stage Manager Helen West Sound Design Stephanie David Set Design Stephanie David Music Recording Jacob Friett  WORLD PREMIERE  Soldiering On by Pamela Reeves directed by Helen Banks Cast Pauline Churchill Viv Stapleton Margaret Wilson Maureen Hardwen Crew Assistant Stage Manager Sam Joyce Sound Design Helen Banks Set Design Helen Banks Properties Roz Betts Combined Crew Stage Manager Richard Banks Set Construction  John Vinnels, Ron Andrews Set Painting Richard Banks, Helen Banks, Mick Taylor Lighting Rigging Rebecca Mason, Mick Taylor, Ian Long, Richard Banks Lighting Programming Rebecca Mason, Ian Long Lighting Operation Ian Long, Daniel Cox, Laura Lockwood Sound Operation Sarah O'Hanlon Cry Me a River by Arthur Hamilton, performed by Helen West. My City of Ruins written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. Morning Passages by Philip Glass from The Hours, performed by the Lyric Quartet. Review A double delight of 'firsts' in New York The curious double bill of New York Stories from the Edward Alderton Theatre [EAT] contains a number of 'firsts'. Two directors make their debut: Stephanie David for a production of David Mamet's The Duck Variations and Helen Banks for Pamela Reeves' Soldiering On, which has the additional honour of being premiered in the UK. As the portmanteau title suggests, these are 'New York Stories' and presumably to be played with American accents, yet herein lies one of the irritations which exposes the unevenness of these two productions. The Duck Variations centres on the mundane conversations of George and Emil who meet on a park bench in Central Park. Do they know each other? Groping around for topics to discuss, they somehow always end up coming back to the ducks on the lake or in the sky. Ultimately the birds become for both a metaphor to explain human nature as well as their own existence. Tony Donnelly (George) and Gary Heron (Emil) plough their way through Mamet's text well enough and convey a burgeoning respect for each other, although there is little convincing that they are New Yorkers. For all the play's 'universality', they could surely have been transposed to Greenwich Park? However, Soldiering On is an altogether different ballgame. The tentativeness of George and Emil scrabbling for topics is replaced by sharply focused and almost claustrophobic exchanges between Margaret Wilson and therapist Pauline Churchill. Three months after the attacks on the Twin Towers, Margaret has been sent by her employers for counselling, much against her will. The play gradually peels away the onion layers to reveal that the true cause of Margaret's post-traumatic stress goes back much further. Maureen Hardwen (Margaret) is, quite simply, totally believable as the woman shouldering a legacy of grief from infancy. She portrays with magnificent conviction a kaleidoscope of emotions. Viv Stapleton (Pauline) responds admirably as the listening therapist. Whilst the EAT is not in the game for revivals, Helen Banks' production deserves to be seen again. The company has done well to bring to the stage a work of such intensity which collapses the gulf between the intensely personal and the universal. It was a privilege to watch. Steve Spencer Kentish Times | 21 April 2011 Feedback We would like to express our thanks for a truly riveting and thought provoking performance. The acting [in Soldering On] was superb and held our attention to the extent of feeling that we were witnessing events at first hand. We would like to thank all involved in this production; it will remain in our memories for a long time. Isobel and Ray Arnold Miscellaneous Trailer Programme Kentish Times review

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