SPRING AND PORT WINE FRESH AND REFRESHING
When I bought tickets for Spring
and Port Wine, for its performance at Bolton’s Octagon on
February 21 st I wasn’t really sure what to expect. To my
great shame, my only encounter with the play was my hazy
recollection of the film version starring James Mason and
Diane Coupland as Rafe and Daisy.
The only thing that stuck in my mind was the fish that
Susan George as Hilda refused to eat, so I really went
there with an open mind.
I am glad that I did, because I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Spring and Port Wine is set in Bolton and centres around
the Crompton family. That bit I already knew, but what I
didn’t know was its author, Bill Naughton was actually
born in County Mayo, Northern Ireland in 1910 and the
family moved to Bolton in 1914.
He actually wrote a play in 1957, titled My Flesh, My
Blood in 1957, which, was first performed on stage in
1959. Naughton then adapted and retitled in Spring and
Port Wine in 1966 and it was this version that was
subsequently adapted to the big screen in 1970. The fact
that the play was conceived in the 1950s makes a lot of
sense to me, as although it is ostensibly set in the 60s,
there is a distinct ‘50s feel about the strict father
whose word is law.
The play got off to a great start with daughter Hilda
coming home from a works celebration a little tipsy, and
all the family sitting around chatting pending their
father’s return from work. Daisy, wonderfully played by
Mina Anwar, is warning them to be on their best behaviour
and telling Harold to put out his cigarette before Rafe
gets home.
When Rafe (Les Dennis) gets home he can of course, smell
the smoke and see that his daughter is a little “worse for
wear,” and suitably admonishes his wayward flock.
As I mentioned earlier on, it was when Daisy served
herring for tea that the drama started. Hilda felt that
she couldn’t stomach the herring and refused to eat it.
Rafe told Daisy to serve it up at future meals and forbade
Daisy from making her daughter the eggs she offered her
instead.
Normally I would have reservations about a Liverpudlian
accomplishing a Bolton accent, but when that Liverpudlian
was the great impressionist Les Dennis, that wasn’t the
case. He could probably do my own accent better than me.
The situation is brought to a head when the family next
sit down at the table and Rafe asks where the herring is.
After some discussion, it ensues, that the family cat has
eaten it. Rafe goes to check and comes back with the
skeletal remains of the fish that he holds up for all to
see. He then demands to know who fed it to the cat. Of
course, they all deny any knowledge of it, but Rafe has
strong suspicions it is indeed his youngest son, Wilfred,
who is the guilty party.
He takes him away from the table and interrogates him, up
to the point of making him swear on the bible that he is
innocent. The upshot is that Wilfred faints under the
pressure and suddenly, the family is in danger of
completely falling apart over the course of a weekend.
Hilda already wanted away, but now all the others are
ready to leave home also. Eventually Daisy and Rafe talk,
and for first time we see that everything Rafe does is for
the good of his family in his belief.
The scene where they realise they have been on the same
page all along is quite touching. Catastrophe is
eventually averted by some team work and reverse
psychology.
Mina Anwar as peacemaker and liaison between Rafe and the
kids, hits the right note from the start and although
there is drama, there is also comedy and Anwar’s timing in
exquisite as always.
Dennis as Rafe is also outstanding, with his pompous yet
caring character very believable. Natalie Blair who played
Hilda was actually performing on the professional stage
for the first time after her ground-breaking role in BBC
3’s horror drama, also set in Bolton, Red Rose,
but you would never have known, as she was always
confident in her role.
Charlie Ryan who played Harold was energetic and played
his part well as the older brother. Monica Sagar, also in
her first professional theatre role, played older daughter
Florence, and Adam Fenton played her fiancé, Arthur.
Florence was the quiet, reliable daughter, but even she
was on the verge of leaving that weekend and Arthur who
started quietly became emboldened by Rafe’s treatment of
his younger son, Wilfred.
Isabel Ford was absolutely brilliant as Betsy-Jane, the
Crompton’s neighbour, especially in her attempts to break
in the drawer where Rafe kept all the money under lock and
key, at one stage ending up crawling under the set of
drawers.
This was the first time I had been to The Ocatagon and I
was immediately impressed by how intimate a setting it is,
and because it is theatre in the round, you can actually
study the expressions on the people around you. This is a
very good barometer as to who is engaging and how well the
play is being received, and I can tell you that all eyes
were on stage for the entire performance, and it was good
to gauge other people’s reactions with my own and see we
were all enjoying what we saw.
Apparently this was the 10 th time Spring and Port Wine
had featured at the The Octagon and I can’t imagine any of
the other nine being better to be honest, because all the
cast were brilliant.
Credit must also be given to director Lotte Wakeham and
Set and Costume designer, Katie Scott for what was a
slick, fast-moving and thoroughly entertaining afternoon.
© Peter Jones 2023 |
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