Reviewed by Wendy Mildren
May 2012
A bright English farce to work well must be done crisply and timing should be spot on, unfortunately on opening night Daw Park Player’s Pardon Me, Prime Minister, was slowed down by difficulty in remembering lines.
The action takes place at 10 Downing Street, London when the Prime Minister is preparing to launch an extremely harsh budget. He and his Counsellor promised at election time to clean up the morals of the country. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister’s youthful indiscretions come back to haunt him.
Bryne Nickolls as the floundering Rt. Hon. George Venables, MP on opening night had some difficulty with his lines. It was an extremely wordy part and a pivotal role, so this had the effect of slowing down the action from time to time. Nickolls looked the part and acted well.
Tim Taylor as the Rt. Hon. Hector Crammond, MP was a scene stealer. Initially, his Scottish accent was so broad it was difficult to understand, but as he relaxed into the role he was splendid. His put- upon secretary, Miss Frobisher, played by Tiffany Browne did her part well and looked attractive.
Peter Hoult as Rodney Campbell, the Prime Minister’s assistant, played his part well. Bronwyn Ruciak, as the featherbrained Prime Minister’s wife, was excellent and maintained her accent and characterization throughout. Dayna O’Brien as the surprise love-child of the Prime Minister played her part well and looked good in her underwear! Jennifer Sim as the journalist, Jane Rotherbrooke, played her role well and also looked good in her underwear!
Janice Symons as the Prime Minister’s little bit of fluff livened up the action with her appearance in the second act. Scott Brokenshire as the detective had a very small part but did it well.
The set by Clarke Staker was excellent and considering the work that occurred on the four doors it stood up well. Kudos to Clarke. The sound effects were a little off on opening night, particularly the phone, which continued to ring after being picked up. Robert Reid, the Director, did a good job with his blocking, however the crispness of the British accents was not present in most of his actors.
