THEATRE REVIEWS

Your past confronts you in the shape of a nineteen year old, starry eyed daughter and disrupts your life. That is the theme of Neil Simon’s play “I ought to be in pictures” now going through its paces in the round at Scarborough. Laurie Sanson’s direction is marred, at times, by his placing of the characters on stage, leaving some people a view of an empty stage and voices coming from the heads of the people sitting in front of them. A lot of his problems are caused by Pip Leckenby’s uninspired set design where most of the props are placed round the outside of the stage, forcing the actors to be on the periphery of the field of vision.

Libby has not seen her father since he walked out on her mother sixteen years ago. Laura Doddington as the daughter plays this rather immature nineteen year old who thinks fathers can work miracles and get you into pictures. Herb, her father, played by Bill Champion, is a struggling script writer who lives on and off with a make up girl who adores him called Steffy, played by Julie Hewlett. The plot allows Herb to come to terms with once again having to deal with a daughter and the effect it has on his life and relationship with Steffy. A flood of language delivered in convincing American accents took us gently to the eventual, foreseeable conclusion of an uninspired play.

The audience gave respectful appreciation to the the actors’ efforts when they took their bows, but Neil Simon said very little that everyone did not already know about the problems with teenagers. Better than watching domestic drama on television. © BA

“I Ought to be in Pictures” is in repertory the Round in Scarborough from the 13th May to the 3rd of July, 2004.