Set in a church hall in Acton, London, this is the funny and moving story of a group of agoraphobic women who, as part of a self help group, decide to break through their troubled and insular lives for one day at least by bravely staging a bazaar and rummage sale. Sue Townsend, author of the very popular Adrian Mole set of books, has crafted a very entertaining, witty and poignant play of ordinary people striving to overcome all obstacles in an effort to rejoin society. This play contains some adult themes and smoking.

Set in the seventies this is the sometimes funny, sometimes quite moving story of a self help group of agoraphobics who set up a bazaar and rummage sale. Hindered by their controlling social worker, Gwenda, each of them start coming to terms with the outside world and the causes if their illness. Fliss, a trainee social worker manages to keep them all together and by the time they leave the hall it is apparent that their agoraphobia is not cured but at least they have made a start.

The Cast.

Gwenda (A volunteer social worker) – Juli Salvi

Fliss (A trainee social worker) – Jane Presland

Katrina (An agoraphobic and ex-variety songstress) – Donna Briant

Bell-Bell (An obsessionally clean agoraphobic) –Glynis Cheers

Margaret (A vulgar agoraphobic for fifteen years) – Jennifer       Scott-Reid

WPC (Terrified of community policing) –Juli Salvi

Director - Richard Westbrook

A review by Toby Allanson

(The Herts and Essex Observer)

'Players' Bazaar Feels

Bit Like Cheap Cast Offs'

It was two for the price of one with the Clavering Players and the productions of 'Bazaar and Rummage' and 'Hang Up' felt like an 'everything must go sale'.

First up at the village hall on Thursday was Anthony Minghella's 'Hang Up', a short one act telephone conversation drama detailing the painful end to a doomed relationship, directed by Richard Westbrook.

The two performers Ian Miller as He and Donna Briant as She, built the tension nicely. They did not rush the dialogue and there was an awkwardness to the performances that successfully conveyed the knife-edge the couple were walking.

The problems came when the production called for some emotional fireworks. Miller and Briant's performances were too controlled, there was not enough of the chaos that must accompany a break up. They simply could not let themselves go.

Briant was back in Sue Townsend's 'Bazaar and Rummage', a comedy drama about a jumble sale organised by a group of agoraphobics and their social workers, again directed by Westbrook.

As with 'Hang Up', The actors, Jane Presland as Fliss, Juli Salvi as Gwenda and a WPC, Glynis Cheers as Bell-Bell and Briant as Katrina, entertained, but seemed stuck in third gear. The production trundled along nicely, but lacked the necessary emotional shifts the script called for.

The exception was Jennifer Scott-Reid, who stood out with a larger then life performance as the foul-mouthed Margaret. Hers was a genuinely funny and touching portrayal of a woman coming to terms with personal demons.

The Clavering Players remain a tremendous outfit and, hopefully, next time around, will be back to serving up top of the range material rather than last season's cast-offs.