REVIEW | A Christmas Getaway, Lichfield Garrick

Reviews

13 Dec

Written by Sam

Disclaimer: Provided with tickets in return for an honest review

It’s been a challenging year for the Jameson family, and they are all planning to enjoy a Christmas Eve getaway to their soon-to-be sold country home. What you don’t expect from this family is the continuous lying and cheating whilst they are all in the same house. Everyone had planned to arrive back at the family home in secret, all at different times without crossing paths but here’s the catch, the daughter is with her lover, the mother is with the daughter’s fiancé, the father is with the neighbour who is also the estate agent selling the house and the maid is with the local oik. Meanwhile, the butler is desperate to be with the housekeeper but also wants to pocket some of the valuables before the house is sold. It’s quite a dilemma.

This is a brand-new story inspired by P.G Wodehouse, Noel Coward and classic British comedy presented with added quirks and giggles from New Old Friends. There are only four actors in this show, and they play multiple roles throughout the performance with the quickest costume changes I have ever seen. It’s fast-paced with fast talking but most of all, it’s chaotic but in a fun way. It’s almost like a real-life version of a reality TV show based on Cluedo.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this show as I couldn’t quite grasp how it would all work, but I am so glad we were invited to watch it. I was impressed from the start. The scenery was simple yet effective as the cast made use of each item (coat rack, dining table and bench) positioned on stage.

As there are only four actors in this show but a variety of characters, I have grouped them together for ease. Firstly, we have Rosie Coles who plays Len Klepson, Misty Norton, Magic Kath and Kim Jameson. Secondly, we have Kirsty Cox who plays, Kath Jameson, Jill Thorpe, Ms Stokes, Prancer, Carol Singers, Carole Singers, Carol Woods and ‘Magic Len’. Thirdly, we have Philip Jennings who plays Derek Fambridge and Dancer and lastly, Stuart Tavendale plays Claude DuBois, Sam Drudge, Carl Jameson, and Dasher.

I have never met any of the actors before nor did I know anything about their characters, but I felt that they portrayed every one of them in the right way. Their body language, accents and costumes didn’t make me question who they were portraying. I also thought they did an excellent job remembering which accent was for which character, with how fast the costume changes were, I imagine it is easy to get into a bit of a fluster.

If you were to ask me to pick a favourite character, I don’t think I would be able to. Stuart’s characters were all so different from one another yet, I was obsessed with all of them! Claude DuBois was a stereotypical Frenchman and I think the show needed it, he added campness to the Jameson household. I don’t want to give too much away because you need to experience it for yourself but Rosie Coles portrayal of Len and Misty at the same time was genius. The hand movements, fast paced talking and costumes were extremely funny, and it lived up to the chaos I mentioned above.

I thoroughly enjoyed the show, and it was great to see something so local to me at the high standard it was. Many, if not all of the audience members were laughing at the dad jokes, the exaggerated acting when it was windy and one of the highlights of the show was the carol singer’s sketch. Kirsty Cox nailed all three of those parts and I couldn’t stop laughing at her head floating between the coats.

There were a few hiccups with lines, but I think the cast did a fantastic job of pulling it back together. Especially Philip’s fast-paced song at the start, it was quite the tongue twister, and he did so well not to crumble and completely forget the words when he paused for a moment. Whenever there was a slight mistake or something didn’t go quite to plan, there were light-hearted jokes from the cast which made it even funnier, and the audience applauded wherever possible. There was no sense of panic or distress, they just got on with their parts and entertained the audience. All four of the cast were fantastic and it’s pretty obvious they thrive off being on stage and quite rightly so, they are a perfect quadruple.

This show is a great alternative to a pantomime and A Christmas Getaway is on at the Lichfield Garrick until Sunday 31 December 2023, you can buy tickets here. There are a limited number of tickets available for some of the dates, so make sure you get yours booked in quick.