REVIEW: A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE

Humdrum

The Spring, Havant

SET in Dublin when homosexuality was a criminal offence and unmarried Catholic girls were sent to England to give birth, Terence McNally’s book uses Oscar Wilde as a source of some telling epithets to colour his clever script in this musical play-within-a-play. James George gives a powerful portrayal of bus-conductor Alfie Byrne, director of an amateur dramatic society planning to perform Wilde’s Salome at the local catholic church, but tormented by suppressed feelings for Robbie, his bus driver, (Michael Gondelle). Sheila Elsdon performs convincingly as Alfie’s sister, Lily, eager to get him paired-up with society newbie Adele, sensitively played by Helen Stoddart in an impressively understated reading, but her secret makes her casting as the virginal Salome too much to bear. Peter Colley doubles-up to great effect as Carney and Wilde himself, Sam Sampson directs the ensemble with a deft touch on the cramped stage and Matt Mellor’s quartet deliver the Irish soundtrack effectively.

Alan Johns