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Amateur Theatre Reviews |
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Clue the MusicalJust Good Friends A UK premier in Carmarthen? Wow! We don't get many of those these days. Just Good Friends is a small enterprising group of talented, professionally trained amateurs who have the energy and the skill to take risks. They are out to have fun with theatre and they hope that their enthusiasm will rub off on their audiences. Well, it's ten out of ten for effort and presentation, but two or maybe three out of ten for the material they had to cope with. This is essentially a party piece, perhaps ideal as undergraduate fodder in a student union bar where a handy drink would help the medicine go down. There are some nice little vignettes made good by the expertise of the players but the basic shape of the piece is, to say the least, confusing. In the audience we are asked to participate in trying to solve the crime, whodunit where and what with. Was it Mrs.Peacock in the ballroom with a candlestick? Well yes, it was actually, although it was all pure guesswork. But, hold on! The Mrs. Peacock theory was a red herring. In fact it was the piano player in the orchestra who had done the nasty deed. Confused? Yes, and so were we all, which is really what this was all about. There is no dramatically shaped story line here. It is basically a stream of monologues presented by the six would-be murderers, all done in the style of high comedy with a smattering of double entendres in the best Carry On tradition. The comic dance routines helped to give the piece substance but it was really a case of us getting some enjoyment from watching others enjoying themselves, if you understand what I mean. So, it was an evening of confusion, with some brilliant performances and all laced together with some of the most forgettable music I have heard for a long time. This is clearly a piece to be performed at a Cluedo addicts convention , which, I understand, don't come round that often. So much for our UK premier! Better luck next time.
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