THE Garrick Club enjoys a reputation for high-standard productions and manages to unearth plays which audiences have never seen.
Such a play is Summer End by Eric Chappell.
Emily Baines is an opinionated, obstinate old lady who lives in a retirement home, Summer End.
Previously having shared a room with a recently deceased inmate, she now has a new room-mate in May Brewer, a far less exuberant lady whose son never visits her.
May and Emily spar verbally with each other and Emily usually emerges as the victor through of her withering vocabulary and deadly put-downs, which makes for some rich comedy.
Marilyn Crowther, as the unsinkable Emily, gives a masterly account of her character with her great vocal technique and perfect timing.
As her long-suffering room-mate May, Kathleen Riley has the difficult task of playing the butt of Emily's taunts, but she is never overshadowed and gives a controlled, clever performance.
Perhaps the balance between comedy and mild thriller is a little uneasy and perhaps the play's ending is protracted.
However, it has a good deal to say about bad retirement homes, the problems of those who live in them and the attitudes of their families.
But it is the comedy that really matters in this highly-entertaining play, given full value by an excellent cast and well-paced direction by Alan Bailey.
By Derek Cheveley.
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