Clerical Errors

Victoria Hall ADS,

Until Saturday

THE fact that Georgina Reid’s gentle comedy is set in a disused Methodist chapel adds a contemporary feel to this production along with the theme of a struggling family looking for somewhere to live and find a roof over their heads.

Julie, a promising debut for Hannah Park, finds herself having to care for her younger sibling Pete, convincing fellow newcomer Anthony Johnson, and alcoholic Gran, a comical character from Natalie Quinn, when her father is imprisoned and her mother runs off with a bookie. They break into the disused chapel much to the concern of the local community, represented by Barry Massey as Theodore Brown in a lively performance, but are saved by kindly minister James Martin, amiably played by Roger Quinn.

Mr Martin decides to live with the family in the chapel in order to better help them, despite the objections of his girlfriend Sylvia Grey, Katie Barnes, and the relationships between these disparate characters flourish and grow as the plot unfolds.

Directors Ray Darby and Dawn Hargreaves keep the pace going, and the set by Phil Ward, David Walsh and Brendan Higgins perfectly conveys an old chapel.

Note that curtain up is at 7.15 pm.

Peter Haslam