At Hijinx Theatre |
| Hijinx Theatre- Sancho Panza , Llanover Hall , October 8, 2012 |
Sancho Panza, that well-known sidekick to Don Quixote, “The Ingenious Gentleman of Le Mancha”, was introduced to the world back in the seventeenth century by the early novelist Miguel de Cervantes. The success of the story and its presentations in so many different forms is a much greater achievement than that of its erstwhile, so called hero, captivated here so comically elegantly by Gareth Wyn Griffiths. Whilst his servant, the star of this performance may get his master out of the difficult adventures that beset them, the relationship between them is not quite what you might expect. In fact the banter that flows so quickly between servant and master brings us more in mind of a Vic Reeves comedy show than a Spanish romance with Gareth Clark showing a remarkable understanding of comic timing. One of the strengths of Hijinx Theatre is their dedication to theatre work with and for people with special needs. Gareth Clark has Downs Syndrome, this has in no way held back his development as an actor who has grown and grown in each of the productions he has appeared. The theatrical understanding in the moments that he and Andrew Tadd, who also has Downs Syndrome, share often give us moments of hilarious delight. The introduction of the horses provides a particular moment of ingenious fun. The Don’s horse is played by a deep rosewood coloured double base so as you would expect the Don has a bit of trouble mounting it contrasting with the ease with which Sancho ‘mounts’ his violin. But then it is the way of Hijinx Theatre to always give us more than we might expect. And here they are up to all their old tricks again with artistic director Gaynor Lougher returning to her acting origins playing a multitude of parts and trying, and usually failing to stop the mayhem. The chaos of the evening is set from the moment we enter the auditorium. A couple of silver ‘wooden trees’ on one side of the stage but mostly the plains of Le Mancha are represented by several roles of white wall paper hung across the back of the stage. The cast are seen drawing Picasso-like work of art on them and writing curious messages to the entering audience. A guitar-strumming chorus, the suave Maxwell James tells us, as he begins the play, he’d rather not be here but we’re glad he is as his music plays a very pleasant commentary as the tale unwinds to its joyful end. Once again everyone leaves a Hijinx production wrapped in layers of warm delight. |
Reviewed by: Michael Kelligan |
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