Pitlochry Festival Theatre, in repertory, 2006

'Man of the Moment' at Pitlochry Festival Theatre.

ALAN AYCKBOURN’S play, directed by Benjamin Twist, is the production with the unusual prop of a swimming pool on stage; more of that later.

The set is expansive, powerfully lit, and it represents a wealthily owned sun-drenched villa in Spain. Reality TV, in the person of Jill Rillington, superbly played by Helen Logan, is dangerously ambitious to make a name for herself and is anxious to create a TV show based on the story of Vic Parks (Jonathan Battersby), a reformed but brazen and wealthy crook, and the humble Douglas Beechey (Richard Addison) whose girl friend was injured in a bank robbery carried out by Parks. Rillington will be happy to ride roughshod over truth for the sake of reality.

Act one is spent with Rillington attempting to persuade each of them to tell their story in retrospect and to voice how they react to meeting each other again. Frustration builds up, tempers become frayed and there are some really brash sections in the script when the plot becomes quite ugly.

There are laughs along the way, and plenty of them, but there’s always this uncomfortable feeling of an inevitable major confrontation brewing.

The swimming pool, which weighs 12 tonnes and holds 12 cubic metres of water, comes into its own in act two. No hosepipe ban wanted.

Unfortunately, only those choosing to sit in the theatre seats further than about half-way back will see the surface of the pool. For the rest of the audience, seated further forward, all they will see is a garden wall with the pool hidden behind it. You will see the splashes as the characters dive, fall, or are pushed in and climb out, but not much more.

I will not reveal what happens, other than to say that, on the one hand it is very funny, and on the other, there is a very dramatic conclusion which counters the many humorous situations enjoyed earlier.

It is a very strong play with understandable tensions, which frequently attend the making of TV shows, at the same time making comment on the TV medium and its less attractive methods.

Recommended in every way for the acting, the superb set and the production.

© Arthur Brocklebank, 2006

Link

• Pitlochry Festival Theatre