‘Wednesday to Come’

Press, 5 November 1984, Page 4

‘Wednesday to Come’

"Wednesday to Come,” by Renee. Directed by Alex Gilchrist at the Court Theatre, from Saturday, November 3. running time: 8 p.m. to 9.55 p.m. Reviewed by John Farnsworth. This is one of the busiest plays to hit the Court’s stage in a long time. It is also a good-humoured and frequently amusing one, which is surprising given its subject: the sheer struggle and the spirit of survival displayed by women in adverse circumstances and those not of their own making. Here it is expressed through the unending domestic toil of a fourgeneration New Zealand family. , Little wonder. The play is set in 1934, during the depths of the Depression. It begins with the return of Ben’s body after his suicide in a labour camp. This, and the arrival of the great unemployment march on Wellington, form the pivets on .which the action turns, ana serves to reveal p J

the reaction of each family member to both events. Yet all this is within the context of an astonishing amount of washing, ironing, mending, cooking, cleaning, and caring which dominate the play to such a degree that sometimes the dialogue has to be carefully eked out, as the cast race from one domestic chore to the next. Mary (Judie Douglass), for example, must be credited with making . the fastest batch of scones in the Western world. It also has the effect that some events, such as family conflicts, are a little too easily disposed of. However, the leading quality of the play is its warmth and sense of involvement, which is effectively transmitted by a lively, well integrated cast. Played in a detailed picture set by Tony Geddes (although -with occasionally disconcerting echoes of “Country G.P.” about it), the * action is deftly shifted from

one family grouping to another.

Undoubtedly, the play’s humanity is given life particularly by the three main actresses: Judie Douglass as the household’s often silent organiser, Wickham Pack as the fiery widow, Iris, and Gwyneth Hughes, who makes the most of her comic potential as the disconcerting Granna. They were supported by Janet glOlFisher, in particular, and Eilis Morgan. In many ways, this is a more complicated play that it appears, and it is a credit to this strong production that it manages to develop its variety of sometimes understated themes as well as it does. Still, there were some tentative patches on opening night, but these will improve as the play settles into its season.

Altogther, it is an attractive and engaging production, and coupled with the play’s uncompromising stance about sexual relationships makes it one well worth" feeing.