THE evening of entertainment provided by Burneside Amateur Theatrical Society started off on a very sombre note with a one-act play by C.H. Hawkins, The Shadow of the Valley, produced by Gordon Lawson.

This was the story of two World War One soldiers in the trenches talking about their families and aspirations for the future, a future which is far from secure. The set comprised of three acting areas, the main one being the trench where most of the play took place. Interspersed with the main action was the family group the baby he had never seen, the wife who missed him and the grandmother who took a tipple for medicinal purposes.

The wife, played by Jackie O'Sullivan, gave a touching soliloquy which portrayed her hopes, her fears, her love. This concern was counter-balanced by the action of the officers who saw casualties as statistics as they reported the numbers of the dead and wounded while the colonel wrote the conventional stereotyped letters of condolence to the next of kin.

The officers, played by Gordon Lawson, Martin Cash and Jim Murray, managed to portray this sense of heartless indifference. The contrast between the three related groups was very well-drawn as was the bond between the two soldiers played by Shaun O'Sullivan and Julian Nattrass.

The unusual twist at the end surprised the audience when the order to commence battle was given, the bond was broken and friend became foe as the two soldiers, one British, one German, turned their rifles on each other. This was a very poignant play, well acted and well produced with excellent set, lighting and sound effects.

This was followed by Dinner for One, the Freddy Frinton evergreen sketch produced by Steve Hall. Miss Sophie, played by Jane Youdell, gave an excellent performance of the aristocratic Englishwoman hosting her annual New Year dinner party for her four long-time dead admirers with the help of her butler James, played by Steve Hall.

James serves the food and wine for each course, mimicking the absent guests and drinking their wine, becoming more inebriated as the sketch goes on. His actions had the audience in stitches, as the drunker he became, the funnier he got. His tripping over the rug routine, which accompanied his many exits, although anticipated by the audience, still brought shrieks of laughter due to Steve's precision and timing. Playing the drunk is difficult to perfect but the spilling of wine, tripping and slurring speech was performed with careful accuracy.

The evening was rounded off with the company singing songs from the 1990s, ably compered by Jim Murray. This was a jolly sing-a-long with solo numbers and audience participation. All of this was excellently accompanied by pianist Joyce Humber, whose playing contributed to the evening's entertainment. ML.

May 29, 2003 12:00