12.98°C It’s 1979 in Essex, and two close-knit families with Irish roots are united by marriage. But at the reception at the Headgate Theatre, the music stops as a fight with the Quin twins breaks out, and the bride hides in an adjacent room and refuses to come out. She has a secret, and it involves the best man. The Colchester Fringe is the perfect place for new work to be tried out, and Liz Mullen’s play has plenty that can be developed; it just feels a little underbaked at the moment. The plot is a bit slight and obvious, but it is enlivened by committed performances and a hilarious dance scene that closes the show.
As Maureen, the bride, Sarah Ellen Young gives a performance that foregrounds the bride’s anxiety, the weight of the world, the wedding, and her secret, which weighs her down. As her newly minted husband, Seamus Maloney captures Dan’s confusion well, and Rowan Donaldson brings a huge level of manic energy to the best man, Barry, sometimes overbalancing the piece. The play is a little trapped, being mainly set in one room, but when we move out onto the dance floor, a new level is hit with Liz Mullen herself as Aunty Susan, desperate to catch the bouquet, and Anthony Roberts stealing the whole show as disco fan Uncle Barry – nothing and no one comes between him and Night Fever!
If the play were to be developed, it would be good to see it open out, include more scenes with the eccentric members of this family, and add another scene set after the reception, as we get no sense of the fallout. The costumes reflect the era perfectly, and there is a blistering soundtrack of disco classics to really get the feet tapping. It’s a piece with much potential, with some very witty lines that capture the period well.
Review by Paul T. Davies, Theatre Editor, Keep Colchester Cool
The final performance of Best Man takes place at 2.30pm on Saturday, 1st November at the Headgate Theatre. Tickets are available.
