THE ALCHEMIST - from Phoenix 69 [undated - assumed post-October 1969]

Last year's school play was a production of Ben Jonson' s classic critique of avarice, 'The Alchemist', by the well-known team of Miss Bracken and Miss Snow. This brave choice called for great expertise in the players and it was unfortunate that the cast, especially some of the leading actors, by virtue of their youth and inexperience, only attained the required cracking pace without loss of clear enunciation on the last night of the production. However, if the first performances lacked the panache of the last, there was much to enjoy in both the production and the acting at each of the performances.

Stephen Hinton, in his first leading role as Subtle, the alchemist and wry exploiter of avarice, maintained a performance of cheerful and unflagging, if somewhat unsubtle, exuberance. His vigorous resourcefulness managed to create a good effect of spontaneity and alertness, ever ready to use the greed of others to line his own pocket. Angela Williams made a promising debut as Dol Common, and was especially hilarious in the mantle of the Queen of Faery and in her gibberish tirade. Her enunciation was perfectly clear from the first night and her generally well-judged performance balanced perfectly with Hintons Subtle and Martin Hewitt's reliable,if uninspired reading of Face.

Keith Barbrook was a noteworthy sceptic, Surly, although he tended to appear somewhat less than abashed in the face (?) of Hewitt's triumph. Norman Brown was an excellent and sadly all-too-ephemeral Lovewit. Here was a fine piece of casting and acting. Nigel Wake, Joe Jakubowski, Colin Bowler, and Roy Cooper provided good support with portrayals which improved with each performance.

However, from the very first, the real scene-stealers on each night in performances of sheer hell-fire and brimstone dynamism were David Reading as Tribulation and Gerard Nolan as Ananias. Their scenes were especially well received by the audiences. Although the added tribulation of a nonconformist hat increased the visual humour, Reading did not really need this concomitant adornment to win the audience's appraisal. Both he and Nolan,with his vehement blasts of righteous wrath against popery,were an outright success. Their diction was never less than perfect.

The producers and the designer, Mr. Clarke, had worked hard to make the most of an ingenious set which provided two acting areas divided by lighting changes. Miss Bracken and Miss Snow exploited these two areas to the full in a production which aimed at accentuating the visual comedy in an attempt to illustrate the extremely difficult text of Jonson' s play. The larger left-hand acting area provided an excellently intimate stage for soul-searching and shaking off misgivings prior to confrontation with Subtle.

The producers had obviously done their utmost to achieve a constant ryhthm and speed throughout the performance and this unfortunately resulted in a loss of clear diction. Clarity of enunciation is essential in any play but especially so in a period play of the linguistic complexity of 'The Alchemist'.

Otherwise this was an enjoyable production which increased in dash and sparkle with each performance. The costumes were well designed by the producers and made by an unusually large body of seamstresses. The lighting and scenic effects were of their usual excellence, for which thanks are due to Mr. Jewell, his stage manager, Anthony Phipps, whose last production this was, all their stage, lighting, and sound assistants, and last but not least, Mr. Gaskell, for his display of amazing pyrotechnic virtuosity. With all due respect to the stage crew it must be noted that the hand that was to be seen from time to time switching on Drugger' s hieroglyphics only added to the knavishness of Subtle's deception.

One final vote of thanks must go to our retiring House manager, Richard Curtis, who alone has remained calm and unflustered in many a crisis and whose capable handling of business matters under the guidance of Mr. Grant has relieved many a shoulder of irksome arrangements and problems.

The list of names of people connected with this production is too long to mention here and so I shall restrict myself to thanking them all on behalf of the producers, the stage director, and Dramatic Society, for their help in realising this difficult play.

D.H.A.