First-time director Toby Bakare makes a reasonable job of Peter Nichols’ play about how Brian (Tim Berryman) and Sheila (Sophie Moniram) cope with taking care of their severely disabled daughter Jo.
This fast moving production delivers plenty of laughs. However, the excellent poster and jaunty programme notes led me to expect a fresher approach, more in keeping with these less sentimental times and perhaps taking a bash at ‘60s pieties.
The comedy could have been blacker and some elements are miscalculated.
For example, Brian’s mother (Jilna Shulka) is presented as an almost tragic figure rather than someone “meaning well” but poisonous, and Kitty Sale and Marcus Goodwile, as Pam and Freddie, do not really nail their characters’ class or personalities.
The cast does well within these limitations, and the two leads convey their painful situation, assisted by Ritu Arya’s convincing performance as Jo.
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, Southampton University Student’s Union Theatre Group, Annex Theatre, Highfield.
Ham Quentin
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