This play is a string of metaphors and clichés strung together to give a pleasant evenings entertainment. What David Cregan has done here is take topical issues and weave them together into a story of repressed desires with funny innuendoes within a serious framework. It seems to work as the audience saw the jokes and understood the issues put before them.

The play revolves round Matthew, a retired man, played by Frank Moorey who is harassed by his over protective niece June, played by Jane Arden. First we see Matthew asserting his independence on the patio of his Richmond home by walking bare foot in the grass, an act that infuriates June who is frustrated in her own life. Next we move to a cafe in Kew gardens where Frank meets Tania, a young woman from Macedonia, played by Cate Debenham-Taylor. The walk in the grass then transpires to a reawakening of Frank’s sexual urges as he becomes attracted to her. Conflict is thrown into the plot when Tony, characterised by the over used stereotype Yorkshireman selling rat poison, played by Steven Elder, comes onto the scene and the trio vie to share a table with the girl. The outcome is a trip on the river for Tania with Frank who eventually takes the girl home for dinner.

Up to this point the Pip Leckenby’s scenery has been adequate and at times ingenious, as with a boat on the lake, but then we drop to rock bottom with a table carried onto the patio to represent the “Help the Aged” shop. However, this scene gives us the arrival of Harold played by Jason Baughan with one of the best performances of the evening. Harold is a bus driver wanting a more stimulating life and to be taken seriously, who helps at the shop where he holds a torch for June also a helper, but his feminine tendencies hold him at a disadvantage. Eventually all the characters end up on the patio for a dinner cooked by Frank, which brings about an interesting conclusion.

Some fine performances are given with a script that gives the opportunity for the actors to show their worth. Each character is finely drawn and gives each member of the cast a chance to exploit aspects, as does Jane Arden when she goes to town with her interpretation of football. The direction by Sam Walters enables the sometimes complicated issues to be portrayed clearly for the pleasure of an appreciative audience. Well worth the effort of a trip to the theatre. © BA

“Whispers along the Patio” is in repertory at the Round in Scarborough from the 2nd of August until the 15th of September, 2001.