The Tenterfield Drama Group has been rebooted with force, successfully staging two popular productions at the Tenterfield Cinema over four sessions (including a Saturday matinee, to maximise attendance).
Group president Harry Bolton said it was good to see the double-header, and attendance figures were strong.
“It was good see new people on the stage, a nice mix of young and more mature,” he said.
He thought the selection of plays was good, given that the directors were keen to develop the skills of the cast.
Mr Bolton considered the three-strong cast of All my love, Paul did an excellent job, and he even preferred this rendition of the play to the 2003 version that opened the cinema redevelopment.
He said The Ladies of the Op-Shop was typical of a local drama group production, fun, quirky, and a good opportunity for both first timers and those returning to the stage.
The group hopes to mount another production before the end of the year, and to continue the development of the group.
“It would be nice to get more people involved, with perhaps even a musical in the future,” Mr Bolton said.
The Ladies of the Op-Shop was dedicated by author (and director) Francis King to St Vinnie’s op shop volunteer Pat Cusack, who was front row in the audience with a group of colleagues from the op shop.
Mrs Cusack said there were quite a few scenes in the play she could relate to, especially the one where a customer couldn’t be heard over the sound of the vacuum cleaner, and the vacuum cleaner operator couldn't hear the request to desist.
She suspects the character checking the figures may have been based on her, but overall she said she enjoyed the evening immensely.
“It was all very good,” she said.
She thought the first play – All my love, Paul – about a terminally-ill girl watching a boy at a bus stop through her window before summoning up the courage to proposition him to make love to her before she passed away could have been hard for those who had recently lost loved ones. Still she was impressed with the way the play illustrated how a proposal that initially seems outlandish can become conceivable.
Mrs Cusack was particularly impressed by the performance of Rhiannon Tange who played the terminally-ill girl, but admired everyone who got up on stage and remembered all their lines.
She has no urge to join them, saying she’d be too nervous. Still she will look forward to enjoying more performances from the audience perspective.
