Blue Remembered Hills at New Theatre

The play revolves around the lives of seven young children in 1943 in war-time Britain who start playing in their local forest. It begins innocently, but a very serious undertone is soon revealed and it comes to a haunting conclusion.

Fringe season began this week

The play was quite funny. The character of Peter (Nick Cain) captured the element of fun in children’s playtime. His comic timing was perfect and certainly got the most laughs out of the audience.

The rivalry between Audrey and Angela was also portrayed very well and the girly giggle of Audrey (Jess Curtis) was hugely contagious.

The directors also managed to pull at the heartstrings. Poor Donald (Sam Greenwood) reached breaking point after some severe teasing – all I wanted to do was give him a hug.

Impressive for 2 weeks work

Unfortunately only a couple of the characters could keep up with the accent throughout the play. When it dropped, it seemed unfamiliar and disjointed. At times the acting seemed static and I felt myself drifting off.

In all fairness this is something that would certainly have come with more time for rehearsal. Joint directors, Ollie Shortt and Jess McNamee, only had two weeks to put the whole production together, which in itself is incredibly impressive.

Fringe Season continues on Monday with The Rehearsal, reserve your tickets here