On arrival everyone was greeted with a free glass of champagne, delicious canapes and melodious live jazz music from Nicola Milan and Stray Cats.

The Award Night was introduced by Meredith Cook, as her co-presenter Jarrod Buttery was appearing in the first snippet from the plays seen in 2015. There followed some wonderful reminders of why The Old Mill is one of WA’s leading community theatres.

Meredith and Jarrod were in excellent fun form as they called out the names of the winners.

The actors were most pleased to have the daughter of Constance Ord – the leading light in the setting up the theatre group many decades ago – to present the Ord Award.

BEST PRODUCTION Wolf Lullaby (Director Alide Chaney)

BEST DIRECTOR Noel O’Neill (Hail Mary)

BEST ACTOR Phil Barnett (Summer of the 17th Doll)

BEST ACTRESS Anna Head (Summer of the 17th Doll)

BEST SUPPORT ACTOR Tom Rees (The One Day of the Year)

BEST S/ACTRESS Beryl Francis (Jigsaws)

BEST STAGE MANAGER Ruhama Geiger (The One Day of the Year)

BEST SET Wolf Lullaby

BEST COSTUMES Hail Mary

MEMORABLE MILLY Shirley Toohey for an outstanding performance in Summer of the 17th Doll

MEMBER OF THE YEAR Joint – John Woolrych and John Spurling

A few ‘Silly Milly Awards’ were then presented for various theatrical disasters.

A fun night that gave us all a chance to see some of the star scenes of the year.

The Saturday, 7^th February’s performance is being devoted to the Kenyan charity, Nakuru Hope‘s (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) Gabriel’s Orphanage which, although it opened only 3 months ago, is already full with abandoned and orphaned children, along with many rape and assault victims. The orphanage is generally well equipped, but still has no proper drinking water.

This quality production can be seen at the Old Mill Theatre, corner of Mends Street and Mill Point Road in South Perth. The two and a half hour shows are nightly at 8.00 pm until Saturday 21^st February. There is one matinee on Sunday 15^th.

The curtains open to reveal another excellent set. Designed by Adam Salathiel and built by Adam, Ben Davis and Tim Prosser it is of an old fashioned, Perth sitting room at Christmas 1987.

The walls are regency striped wallpaper, and a couple of oak Welsh dressers further adorn the surrounds. A decorated Christmas tree stands in front of the window. The view from the window was extremely realistic (yet another Tim Prosser masterpiece) and at one stage in the play, there was even a downpour of rain against the window.

In the second Act, all of the walls were decorated a trendier, light rust colour; the flock settee replaced with a buttoned leather couch. How did every wall change colour? This must have been a massive task for stage managers Cally Zanik and Daniel Madgwick.

The sound and lighting design were by Kath Carney (the well known spelling mistake – ‘in’ joke). Graeme Johnson helped with the setup, rigging and operated the sound. Kath’s lighting was outstanding; with soft illumination generally and the occasional dramatic spotlight or beam of early morning sun streaming through the gap between the curtains.

       We join a family Christmas reunion, and the spirit of Christmas is definitely missing. Pedantic perfectionist, Monica (Danni Close) is whinging about all of the extra work that she has to do, looking after her elderly Grandmother, Emma (Beryl Francis), although no one has actually asked her to do it.

       Next to an armchair, where her easygoing, non-house-proud, slightly supercilious sister, Alex (Hayley Currie, giving a very strong first acting performance) has been sitting, Monica spots a coffee stain on the carpet. In seconds, Monica has her rubber gloves on and is down scrubbing.

       Auntie Pat (Tracy Bolton) enters the room and catches the end of Alex’s ‘phone call. Pat drags from Alex that whilst living in Melbourne, she has moved into a flat with a divorced doctor. For the sake of all concerned – and Christmas spirit, Pat begs Alex not to tell her matriarchal mother, Sylvia (Judi Johnson) who seems to have quite a few chips on her shoulder, permanently.

       We can see the love and appreciation in the group; their problems with their miserable husbands, and how the years have seen them drift apart. Each one seems to be heading for disaster; however, will the strength of their blood ties hold them together?

Why let a sensitive sitting dog lie when things NEED to be discussed and pointed out? Forget sensitivities or family bonds; just let the feelings flow forth. Do these relatives REALLY want to bring about an equitable agreement?

Not surprisingly, the dedication of the cast is reflected in the distance that they have had to travel, and with some of the cast coming from Mandurah for rehearsals and shows. This demonstrates their enthusiasm and the faith that they have in the well-respected director, Adam Salathiel. Adam, who often goes under the nickname Mut Ley, is a building surveyor by day and thespian by night. The whole cast have years of experience and it shows in the wonderful chemistry between the actors.

Christmas dinner and the ‘relaxation period’ afterwards can be one of the most stressful periods of the year, and in this superbly written dialogue, I am sure that many couples will have nudged each other during the performance, as though to say ‘do you recognise the situation?’ or ‘that is you!’. This play shows us how the square peg does not fit the round hole, or in a Jigsaw, there is always that odd piece that does not quite fit in. You will squirm slightly as you recognise yourself as one of the characters.

Beryl Francis first played the part of Emma about a decade ago – With her husband, Ian, directing. Beryl’s monologue was a real tissue job. Plenty of laughs and gasps as the family relationships unfurled.

A professional show in all aspects. Strongly recommended.

This Stray Cats Theatre Company has teamed up with the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre. This brief season has curtain up for the 140-minute show, at 7.30 nightly until Sunday the 17^th August. There is a Saturday matinee.

A little history. The first time I saw this play, was in the UK, when some of the group I went with had to have a few things explained to them; one was ‘planing’ (the man’s tongue action) and the other ‘a vibrator’!! When you think that the first sex shop in the UK – ‘Ann Summers’ – was opened only about 8 years previously, and with no internet, Google, and adverts for such ‘implements of sin’, they were found only in special, under-the-counter, Adult magazines. Now, any ten year old would have a fair idea.

Last night, strangely, the one word that no one seemed to know the meaning of, was ‘Borstal’, it is a custodial institution for young offenders (named after a small town in the south of England where the first borstal was built).

With many houses in the poorer areas of big cities having neither baths nor hot water systems, the tenants had to go the local swimming baths, where there were Turkish Baths, in order to have a thorough wash. The attendants were often a shoulder to cry on, they did pedicures and generally helped the poor and old have a better life.

Now back to the story.

The venue is a Turkish Baths in the east end of London, in the late ‘70s. There has been a huge amount of work put into this set. There is a large above ground pool, but with layers of dais built around, it became ‘in ground’. There is a steam area, showers, lounging beds mirrors and storage area. Designed by Karen Francis, the set was built by Mathew Sleet, Thomas Hennessy and Patrick Cordwell. Very impressive.

       Pop music of the era fills the arena, as the caring attendant, Violet (Judi Johnson) goes about her morning tasks, replacing dirty towels and tidying up ready for her regulars. The first to arrive are the elderly Mrs Meadow (Beryl Francis) and her Down’s syndrome (?) daughter, Dawn (Monique Kinnest) of whom she is very protective. Upsettingly, Mrs Meadow’s other daughter refuses to have anything to do with her mother. Dawn is ordered by her Mum to weigh herself and then sit in the steam room. The maternal love is confused as poor plump Dawn is trying hard to lose weight, whilst being fed chocolate biscuits by her Mum.

        Next to arrive is Night Club hostess, Josie (Diana Oliver) who has a new German boyfriend who, as Josie explains to Violet, is capable of making love for hours at a time. Violet shouts to the boiler man, Bill (voiced by Ian Butcher) to turn up the water temperature, but he shouts back that the pump has seized. The swimming baths are crumbling about them.

        Sneaking in quietly, is a very shy young woman, Nancy (Tracy Bolton), she explains that she is looking for her friend Jane. Violet makes her a cup of tea, but it is obvious by the Gerald Durrell book in her hand, her posh accent and smart clothes that she is not from around these parts. When Jane arrives, Nancy looks relieved, desperate to get someone to listen to her troubles.

         Slowly, as the girls unwind, their sad stories are shared. Then unexpectedly, the group get terrible news.

 Karen Francis is a wonderful director, she manages to transfer to her cast what is required, builds up enthusiasm and takes them on a wild ride to success. This play was no different, yet another success.

The play has huge demands on the cast, but with the very sad story threads, the audience have a rollercoaster ride of exhilaration, sadness, lots of belly laughs and a few tears. Sadly, this play is most famous for its boobs etc., and bad language, but in fact, because of the professionalism of the director and dedication cast the whole show is inoffensive. It is not sleazy and with no vulgar or suggestive moves, just good clean, nude fun.

The play characters are not top models, as one professional production had about 20 years ago, but everyday poor women having a weekly gathering. I have heard it said that the theme is ‘outdated’ but in a couple of areas in the UK, there are still baths like those depicted.

For this play to be successful, the cast had to be completely relaxed about their bodies (you were ALL beautiful) so that the dialogue was not stunted in its delivery by any embarrassment. If the cast of a show feels self-conscious, then the audience will feel twice as bad as voyeurs.

The audience was mainly couples over 55 yrs., although there were some young ones too. It was wonderful to hear the oldies laughing so uproariously at the script and superb presentation, as in their youthful days, all of this would have been ‘not for discussion at home!’

The complete cast were wonderful, giving full depth to their performances. All were tremendous sports, however a special mention must go to Diana as Josie who had moods ranging from near orgasm, to tears, jealousy and being a suspected rape victim, all perfectly depicted.

Normally when I mention the pleasing programme, it is because there is nothing else worth mentioning about a show; however, this really is the best programme that I have seen this year. Congrats to Kristie Hennessy.

It seems strange to find that a dresser was required in a show with so few clothes, but Sheryl Gale worked overtime as all the actors robed up for their next entrance. This is a well-written hilarious play, superbly presented with a comfortable, non-embarrassing flow to it. Your Granny will love it – and I suspect there were a few Great Grandmothers in the audience. Have a fun night out and a giggle.