THERE is something quintessentially British about being able to squeeze wry humour into tense moments.

The outbreaks of laughter from the audience in a play which opens with the botched suicide of unfulfilled Hester Collyer (Flora Montgomery) is a credit to the cast but also director Eoin O’Callaghan, who gave each human emotion space to breathe in this Terrence Rattigan remake.

It wasn’t just comedy the audience responded to though, it was the drama and anticipation met with by rippling “Dear, oh dears” and “Oooohs” all around me.

Set in a rundown Ladbroke Grove tenement in London, the characters we meet are special but recognisable from do-gooders Mr and Mrs Welch (Michael Oku and Alisha Williams) to compassionate mother hen Mrs Elton (Pamela Miles).

There is also the tell-it-like-it-is sort, like mysterious Mr Miller (Nicholas Murchie) who through shared experience and kinship, brings Hester back from the brink of despair because “beyond hope, there is life”.

Gazette:

Unlikely friends - Mr Miller (Nicholas Murchie) and Hester

The abyss inside Hester’s heart after two failed relationships was reflected in the symbolic set, where vivid blue walls created a sense of drowning in one’s unhappiness.

But given there is always light at the end of the tunnel, I suspect the warm orange light which shone down on her after choosing life was a subtle reminder for us all.

A bold play in more ways than one, I became lost in the sincerity of the performances and yearned for the ending. Not because I’d had enough but because I was intrigued.

The poise demonstrated by the cast – there was a medical emergency in the audience which halted the show – meant I could forgive them for slipping up on names because the recovery was faultless.

Will I now go and read the original script? Doubtful. But the next time The Deep Blue Sea is on stage, definitely count me in.

  • 39 Steps hits the stage

JOHN Buchan’s classic novel The 39 Steps is transformed into a swashbuckling comedy at Frinton Summer Theatre this week.

Using the magic of theatre, a cast of 150 is played by just four actors as the dashing Richard Hannay - played by Max Gell - is pursued by a mysterious organisation, leaving a trail of murder and mayhem in their footsteps.

Natasha Pring, Chris Levens and Andrew Ashford also star in director Patrick Barlow’s hilarious adaptation of the original.

The 39 Steps is at the McGrigor Hall until Sunday.

Shows are at 7.30pm with a 3.30pm Saturday matinee.

Tickets are £14 to £20 from the box office on 01255 676656.