The Actress

You can always trust the Little Theatre. This subtle Chekov-inspired comedy about an aging actress shedding her profession is gently presented. There is very little shouting, just a few tears and much tenderness without cloying. Tess Gill perfectly channels Victoria Wood, in a good way, playing sweet-natured whenever she can against the evidence of her daughter, her ex-husband, her long-suffering dresser, Mimi Goddard in another finely realised Wood-style persona. They all have such excellent comic timing, as do the stock characters, the agent, the Company Manager and aged fiancé. The climactic curtain speech, an actor’s honest confession, is a triumph.

Brighton Little Theatre, 21 March 2017

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