THE GOOD LIFE - AT THE ARTS
Is there a future for nostalgia? Should the old adage about actors never working with children or animals be extended to include much-loved TV characters from long ago? The strength of the old BBC series ‘The Good Life’ lay in its simple shtick – neat suburban house turned into a cold comfort farm – and the lovability of its performers. Any new play seeking to match the success of that show pits itself against the likes of Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith. They are a very hard, nay impossible, act to follow. That said, this play should be judged on its own merits – after all there will have been people in the Arts Theatre audience who were too young to have seen the original or know who that ‘A List’ of old actors were. It was in that spirit that this reviewer, very definitely old enough to have fancied Kendal in her 1970s dungarees, approached this new production.
Presented on an ingeniously revolving set, we are introduced to the two couples: Tom and Barbara Good who are approaching their midlife crisis determined to throw suburban comfort into a mucky compost bin; neighbours snobby Margot and henpecked Jerry for whom a new status car and a leading part in the local amdram musical is as far as their ambition stretches. As Tom throws off his career as designer of plastic figures in breakfast cereals, Jerry, his next-door neighbour and work partner, lusts after swanky cars and promotion via grovelling to the boss. The urbanites become self-sufficient farmers fast learning how to milk a goat or midwife a sow. All this is to the horror of the smug, self satisfied Margo and Jerry.
The first half started very well with witty lines abounding, a cracking pace and 70s attitudes uncomfortably hung out to dry. Thus marital sex here was a wifely reward to the men-as-boy husbands and neither Margo nor Barbara seem to have proper jobs. There were very nice turns by the wonderful Nigel Betts as the cartoonish boss, and his secretary played with old fashioned fun by Tessa Churchyard. These last two played a variety of characters in the play and always raised the game whenever they were on.
After a strong start, the latter half of the first act lost its way a bit. I thought Preeya Kalidas’ Margo had too little character development to work on. She should surely be both a frightful snob but also an affectionate neighbour. The subplot about Margo’s desire to play Maria in the ‘The Sound of Music’ was clunky and unnecessary. Despite a very good cameo by an astonishingly lifelike goat, the mayhem caused by the woolly creature, an errant golf ball and an increasingly stoned dinner party fell flat.
The second half of the play was much stronger and we got some genuine drama around the birth of a runtish piglet. Shall it live – or not? Rufus Hound was convincing as the newly-converted countryman Tom who favoured a cull. Sally Tatum did well in the role of Barbara -strong yet soft centred, and Dominic Rowan was nicely on target as the spineless Jerry – a well-groomed coward in his Pringle sweater and beige C&A slacks.
This was a pleasantly entertaining evening at the theatre. If you fancy a cheer-up of pre-Thatcher era nostalgia the production will give you something to smile about. It is old fashioned (even down to the G-plan furniture and Black Forest gateaux) and in the end a cheery dose of gentle fun. Nostalgia does have a future.
Dates: Tuesday 9 – Saturday 13 November
and Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday, 2.30pm: £20/£25/£35/£45
All ticket prices include a £3 per-ticket booking fee
Box Office: 01223 503333 / www.cambridgeartstheatre.com
