The May Production
"The Darling Buds of May" by H. E. Bates.
Directed by Jamie Rees. Cast
Pop Larkin
Ralph Williams
Ma Larkin
Tracey Walton
Montgomery
Rhys Maddock
Primrose
Mair Phillips
Petunia
Terri Willis
Zinnia
Bethan Russell
Victoria
Georgina Hale
Mariette
Sarah Green
Mr Charlton
Lee Edward
The Brigadier
Michael Dickerson
Inspector
Andrew Lodwig
Miss Pilchester
Claire Boland
Pauline Jackson
Megan Lloyd
Sir George Bluff-Gore
Peter Williams
Lady Bluff-Gore
Joan Powell
Angela Snow
Geraldine Davies
Party Guests
May Ellwood, Ann Sparks
Review
The Darling Buds of May
Neath Little Theatre, Westernmoor Road, Neath
Thursday(May 18)
The final major production in Neath Little Theatre's 70th
anniversary season is a fabulously warm and absorbing
adaptation of H.E. Bates's first novel about the Larkins -
a family which makes the Waltons appear sterile in
comparison.
For this production, director Jamie Rees has opted for a
very different approach to that normally adopted by NLT,
exploiting not only the stage but also the auditorium itself
(a climactic scene in which fireworks apparently burst above
the heads of the audience while the cast look on in wonder
is an absolute joy).
Comparisons with the classic TV show which launched the
career of a certain Swansea-born actress are inevitable but
wholly unnecessary: no attempt is made to imitate the style
of the series and this is very much a truly theatrical experience
in which the performers bring the characters to life in their
own way.
Ralph Williams and Tracey Walton are nothing short of "perfick"
(sorry)in their respective roles as Pop and Ma Larkin, working
so well together and clearly enjoying the opportunity to interpret
the characters in their own way.
Sarah Green is suitably bewitching as Mariette, who captures the
heart of Cedric Charlton(Lee Edwards), the bespectacled tax
inspector who gets more than he bargained for when he turns up
at the Larkins' rural home. The piece is enhanced still further by
the many youngsters from NLT's Youth Section who portray the
Larkin children with bags of energy and verve, and by the
attention to detail which has gone into the piece - not simply
the bottles with wire stoppers, 50s TV sets and period costumes,
but also the sustained action during the party scenes which
conveys a very real buzz and a sense of activity.
By far one of the strongest and most popular offerings to have
been staged at NLT for some time, The Darling Buds of May ends
its run on Saturday.
Graham Williams
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