Review ... Comedy and overcoming obstacles with the Largs summer theatre

It is goodbye to an old friend in the Brisbane Centre, which has been a home to the Largs Players summer playhouse for the past 23 years, and hello to the the intimate surroundings of the clubroom in Lounge.

Largs Players have regularly tweaked the format of the comedy theatre in recent years, and this particular production was no exception to the rule.

This year we have three laughter-filled sketches in the first Act, followed by a clever, thought-provoking play in the second half interlaced with music, and heralded as a world premiere no less.

We start in more familiar territory with a short play simply known as 'Holiday' by Peter Quilter. The best comedy centres around comic mishaps and awkward situations. 

So when a divorcing couple decide to spend their last holiday together in Torremolinos, you can cut the atmosphere with a knife from the Lounge kitchen next door.

Both Jon Wilkin and Angie Kelly are stalwarts of the Largs Players scene and played Bobby and Shelly, oozing venom, bitterness, and some of the worst excesses thanks to the devil drink! 

"Leave Harry out of this!" barked Bobby when Shelly discovers her hubby had brought JK Rowling's finest novels on holiday to read.

But as is in all the best plays, it is important not to judge a book by its cover as it builds up to a surprise conclusion.

The second show 'Nun Break' by Neil Warden stars George Whitestone in a frock, and Gordon McMurray as a nun. If that isn't reason enough to go along and see this hilarious show, then what is? Sam is awaiting a blind date in a bar, but is suddenly interrupted by a nun escaping an 'incarceration' in the local convent. 

The audience is reduced to stitches, and as director Drew Cochrane revealed afterwards, the cast miss the odd quote or two from the script! 

When the battle-hardened prompt Rosemary Willis uttered another line to Sister Ignatius, she turned to the awestruck audience, and exclaimed... 'It's divine intervention!'

And now for something completely different, as Alison Green donned seagull costume and beak as commander of the flock in Largs.

With gull patrols being directed to a number of locations in Largs, including Nardini's, the winged menace is immortalised with its own sketch in the comedy theatre.

There is no escaping the flying pests, and the fact that they have now infiltrated Largs Players shows that their very presence in the town knows no bounds!
Alison certainly swoops in with a funny take on our seagull friends.

The second act 'Invisible' by Robin Lucas and Drew Cochrane is another proud moment for the Players.

In collaboration with SHIMS (Scottish Head Injuries Musical Support Group), the play centres on the future of The Sunshine Club which provides therapy and support for people who have suffered life-changing head injuries.

The musical features some performers who are recovering from brain and head trauma, backed up by the cast of Largs Players, and it makes for a very moving, poignant, and uplifting production.

Interspersed with guitar music and descriptive lyrics which pull at the heart-strings, we are taken through the stories of some of the people who have battled these traumas, with some having recovered from car crashes, and bad falls, and use music and theatre to lift their lives.

Musician and songwriter Robin Lucas penned the songs to offer an interesting insight into the condition and recovery involved in head injuries.

'Somebody Help Me Please' is one of the moving and poignant lyrics as the world comes crashing down on The Sunshine Club as it comes under threat from closure.

The title 'Invisible' refers to the fact that people can't visually see brain injury, and this is addressed in one of the songs as people can't see it and appreciate the upset involved with memory loss, as 'there's no bandage.'

Largs Players has been blessed over the years with some wonderful shows and performances, but this little production with the big heart is very deserving of further focus because of its subject matter, and the sensitive way in which it is handled.

It is beautifully performed by not just the Players but the real true life members of the Sunshine Club. On its opening night, it gained a deserved ovation from the Lounge audience. The cast were: Robin Lucas, Drew Cochrane, George Whitestone, Guido Corvi, Pat Nicol, John Griffin, Alan Leyden, and Peter Grant.

Co-written and directed by Drew Cochrane, it is a must see.

All in all, the summer theatre has a new home but also has a different outlook, providing great entertainment, humour, and how to overcome great obstacles in life. See it on Friday 21st July, 27th, 28th, and 4th, 10th and 11th August.