Newspaper revew: The Harrogate Advertiser

Cemetery play not morose

Given its title, theatre-goers could be forgiven for thinking The Cemetery Club is a touch morose - it is anything but.
Presented by The Harrogate Dramatic Society and directed by Frank Moorby, this production is witty, happy, sad, touching and very very human all at the same time.
The American playwright Ivan Menchell described The Cemetery Club as a way of dealing with the loss of his father and dedicated it to his memory. What a tribute.
The set is simple and works very well. Bright lights come on and we are ensconced in a comfortable New York home. They dim, and we're in a cemetery.
The play centres around three Jewish widows and very good friends who have all lost their husbands in the recent past. Ida Lucille and Doris congregate every month to visit their husbands' graves.
Each of the women are very different but equally loveable. The accents and New York speak are perfect.
Judy Methven is completely uninhibited and gets lots of laughs as the frivolous flirtatious Lucille. Doris, played by Jennifer Cowling, lives for her cemetery visits and Ida, played by Jenny Antram, seems to be looking for something else in life.
The women have tea, gossip, talk about their late spouses and come out with some ascerbic lines such as "Dogs chase cars but when they catch them, they can't drive".
Ivan Menchell must be congratulated on his intimate perspective of women.
The background Jazz voices of Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan are perfect in evoking memories of the three couples in their hayday.
Lucille decides that she wants more out of life than belonging to the "cemetery club"
She says: "I refuse to be in a club in which half the members are dead" she huffs - until Sam (Alan Harwood) turns up to visit his late wife and life hots up for everyone, not least Mildred (Veronica Robson) whose appearance is a revelation to the other women.
The second part of "The Cemetery Club" is a rollercoaster of fast and unpredictable turns, climaxing in the biggest twist of all.
I echo the words of one audience member: "The atmosphere in the studio was tangible"
And so it was. The silence was only broken by the odd snivel. A truly remarkable play in every way possible.

Nova Stewart