SPRING AND PORT WINE

St Joseph’s Players, St Joseph’s Hall, Leigh

Until Saturday

NEVER before has a plate of herring caused such a stink than in Bill Naughton’s kitchen sink drama.

Spring and Port Wine, which began life as a radio play first broadcast in 1957, sees the Bolton playwright take a look at family life with his unique style of acute observation and good humour.

The production, being staged by St Joseph’s Players until Saturday, is set in the Bolton living room of the Crompton family in the early 1960s.

The subtle comedy features the working class family experiencing ups and downs which will resonate with anyone who has ever had a battle with their parents or finds themselves looking at younger generations with disbelief.

Rafe Crompton - a stickler for the truth and fond of a good rant - rules his wife, Daisy, and their four children with a rod of iron but as they grow up and times change, the tide is turning.

David Hodgkinson puts in a sterling performance as Rafe - I particularly enjoyed his outburst in Act I when daughter Hilda, played by Louise Farrell, turns her nose up at her plate of herring.

Kathryn Green plays his long-suffering wife well and there is a particularly touching scene between the pair in Act II when some home truths are revealed.

Kay Unsworth is entertaining as nosy neighbour Betsy Jane, who takes advantage of Daisy’s good nature.

There are a number of new young faces in the production, who will no doubt be nurtured by the experienced members of St Joseph’s Players.

Danny McCarrick did well to step in at the last minute to cover the role of Arthur, due to illness, and the other Crompton children are played by Brandon Whelan, Ryan Gerrard and Zara Tang, who asserts her authority when sticking up for her dad.

The final scene lost a bit of its impact due to some muddled lines but, overall, an enjoyable performance of a Bill Naughton classic.

Spring and Port Wine, directed by David Grime, runs until Saturday.