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Tuesday 2nd February

This play by Alan Ayckbourn was written during the 1970s and the attention to detail to evoke that period, from the choice of music to the excellent set design, was well thought out by director Hazel Burrows. The art deco look of the meeting room totally evoked the accommodation used for those types of meetings: the lamps being particularly beautiful, together with the hugely recognisable set of chairs normally found in such places. (It might have been useful to highlight the ten chairs for the ten characters right at the start to reflect the play title, but this was a minor quibble.)

The prominence of the use of red was a sign of things to come as the more gentle first act of three meetings descended into the eventual farce and carnage of the second.

Anyone who has served on a committee will find much to recognise and enjoy here in the troupe of Ayckbourn's clichéd characters delivering the acerbic one-liners. Ken Hann does well as the archetypal bumbling chairman ‘elected’ by his harsh-tongued conservative wife (Christine Baker), who really comes into her own at the end of act one. This is not just a series of taunts and put-downs but a real character riding into battle against the perceived Trotsky-ite machinations of a dismissive William Baggs as he tries to hijack the Pageant for his own opposite political ends. Their ‘committee’ exchanges are most enjoyable for being suitably rude and pointed.

Angie Stansbridge and Marie Mcdade coo and flutter around him in bohemian contrast to the more moral and staunchly upright of the group, as the Pageant descends into a real battleground for ideological supremacy. Philip De Grouchy brings pathos to the man more interested in the bottle than his wife (whom we never meet as they attend alternate meetings) while John Hamon and David Jobson as hotel caretakers expertly move the props around between and within the acts, causing just the right amount of mayhem to the proceedings when needed.

Peter Ward grabs the start of the second half and never lets it go, as the farcical results of act one are played out for all to see. His performance propels the audience into much laughter and sets the scene for a final physical war between the differing ideals – all being terribly British, of course.

Nick Longland and John Souter (who plays his mother – yes, you read that correctly) are the perfect double-act: the former in ‘counsellor’ character throughout, a serial committee attendee, always finding fault with proceedings and spelling; the latter causing much amusement throughout, savouring and making the most of every line and moment as the typical hard-of-hearing older lady secretary who never quite gets the minutes typed in time but produces mince pies and knitting from nowhere, it seems. The concentrated piano-playing in the second half while all is let loose around her is particularly well done.

The Maskers Group prove again that they choose the right material for their actors, and the packed house applauded at the end very enthusiastically.

- David Putley

Southern Daily Echo

Thursday 4th February

I think it’s fair to say that this isn’t one of Ayckbourn’s finest. It lacks the intricacy of language and character that one expects; that said, its gentle humour is endearing, as the committee from hell (aren’t they all?) organise a pageant based on an obscure piece of village history.
Ray (Ken Hann) does his best to fairly chair the impossible personalities; the worst being his bigoted and vocal wife, Helen (Christine Baker), whose condescending and outrageous observations are deliciously cringe worthy. The side is supported by the supercilious deputy, Donald (Nick Longland) and the inebriated Lawrence (Philip de Grouchy) who gives a spirituous performance. The stand out performance comes from Audrey (John Souter), Donald’s aging mother, with few lines but always in character and a joy to watch. The first half drags at times but proceedings pick up in the second act as Captain Barton (Peter Ward) bursts onto the stage. The play is enhanced by a static but decent set and some well thought out props and costumes.

- David Cradduck