Wanganui Repertory Theatre's
Ringing Changes
Written and Directed by Ted Charlton
Performed on Sunday, July 8 at 2pm.
Reviewed by Paul Brooks
Ted Charlton has written a good play with plenty of humour and loads of references to the time and place where it is set. It's the 1980s, when microwaves were new technology and mobile phones were large and cumbersome — but still very trendy among a certain set.
Ringing Changes covers two occasions in the life of a family — the 25th and 30th wedding anniversaries of Helen (Cathy Gribble) and Buck (Chris Stedman), when all the family and their partners gather to wish them luck and play out their own dramas and comic scenes.
My job is to give my impressions, not to tell the story, but there are scenes and moments which cannot go unmentioned.
Like Ashlyn Morris' brave foray into near nudity and girl-on-girl wrestling, a scene predictably misinterpreted by other members of the cast. Then there's the drama of trying to hide the 30th anniversary present and the frantic disrobing which ensues.
You'll love the looks on mum and dad's faces when daughter Jessie (Jess Alder) arrives with her new partner Max.
And get a load of yuppie son Andrew (Caius Wrigglesworth) and his mobile phone, pre-stock market crash.