A comedy written in two parts by Elaine Horne.
Then: Set in Bailey’s Hotel, Bognor Regis, the year is 1910. The establishment is run by a very supercilious manager, Mr. Swinton, who is a bully and treats his female staff with disdain. There are comings and goings and shenanigans which all become clear in the end.
Now: We move forward one hundred years to the revamped hotel now run by Ms. Verity Greenway. Well, she tries to run it, but life has moved on meanwhile. The staff appear to run her. There are yet more comings and goings and shenanigans with hilarious consequences. Some things never change.
Do come and join us for a very entertaining evening in Boxford Village Hall and be prepared for a night of laughter.
We have a no-food option on Thursday 27th March when the tickets are only £8 each.
Friday 28th and Saturday 29th March are £16 each to include a two course meal. Amazing value!
Tickets go on sale on the 22nd February from the Post Office or online at boxfordshows.uk/tickets
NOW AND THEN
The spring Boxford Drama Group production this year was Elaine Horne’s play, ‘Now and Then’, a 2-act comedy spanning 100 years in the fictional Bailey’s Hotel in Bognor Regis. In the first act, set in 1910 – a period of British history which saw huge social and cultural upheaval, the management of the hotel wrestles with the profound changes to class and gender-based conventions. Running deep in the undercurrent of the very funny dialogue between the staff and guests, Elaine’s layered script deals with how female attitudes to patriarchal rule began to change with the Suffragette movement gaining momentum, as well as how a blurring of the borders between social strata during George V’s reign meant previously distinct corners of society started to chafe against one-another.
Mike Keith, as the hotel manager Mr. Swinton, did a great job in conveying the confusion of the establishment at this time in attempting to uphold traditional values and yet barely keeping the frayed edges together. Boxford Drama Group newcomers Jane Jeffries and Ellie Chamberlain, as dysfunctional mother and daughter Clarissa and Amelia Pinkerton-Smythe were the stars of the show with some fantastic characterisation and nuanced performances and long may they tread the BDG boards.
Act 2 saw us time-travel to 2010, where Bailey’s Hotel is now a boutique affair with high-tech retina scans and QR codes, special offers and staff flexi-time. However, where the play diverts from Act 1 with these up-to-date changes, strong parallels remain with the echoes of feminism, social mobility and the ruinous effects of war on families (as well as problems with hotel toilets!). Lenka Netopilikova put in a hilarious performance as the finance-savvy staff-member Katya and had the lion’s share of the night’s laughs whilst Hannah Carpenter’s Courtney showed how a liberated woman in modern times can be a source of real emotional strength.
Even with these layers of subtext and social commentary running throughout, Elaine Horne’s play was genuinely funny with both acts running a sub-plot of doomed-to-be-uncovered infidelities – Frances Korabik and James Tolputt in Act 1, and Alison ‘Wonder Woman’ Barlow and Peter ‘Batman’ Korabik in Act 2 as the hapless couples.
Well done to everyone involved, including the set design, lights, sound and all the catering and support team. A hugely entertaining run of 3 nights was enjoyed by sell-out audiences which is evidence of how much the drama group is celebrated! Encore!
Thanks to Jeremy Morgan for the photos.