SUDDENLY AT HOME Tea Tree Players Tea Tree Players Theatre Until 09 Oct 2010 Review by Richard Flynn The 120-seat theatre shows ‘House Full’, as the largely senior citizen patrons prepare for a change fromthe Tea Tree Players’ customary British comedy offerings. But the change is not too traumatic:“Suddenly at Home” is a ‘formula thriller’, with so many twists and turns that these days it evokes rathermore giggles than gasps. English author and playwright, Francis Durbridge sets his play in 1970sLondon; this production has been shifted to the mid 90s. Director Fran Edwards and her eight-member cast need to allow more for this, since the style and pace,appropriate for the 70s, does not always ring true of the 90s. The stock characters need to be playedvigorously as such, with greater attention to authentic accents, the Waterloo for many amateurs. Suchan aural hotchpotch is disconcerting. Aussie nasal vowel sounds and present day speech rhythmsabound, particularly in the four women. Jayne Kearney plays ‘the famous Maggie Howard’, a wealthy woman with severe depression, who wantsto drag husband, Glenn (Jamie Wright), from his London job to live in supposedly idyllic Bermuda. Glenncan forget self-esteem and a job he likes, because she is loaded and thinks she holds all the cards. Sillywoman! On the other hand, Wright has a good feel for the part, firming as the plot unfolds, thoughvocally he invariably sounds worried and usually too restrained, so much so that one woman near thisreviewer whispered late in the play, “Whatever do these women see in him?” If she’d been onstage, nodoubt she would have found out rather more quickly than she’d have liked! Stacey Hendy plays Helen Tenby, Maggie’s half-sister. After an unconvincing first scene, she gives astrong, well-realised performance. Selena Carr is effective as aspiring actress and general vamp, SheilaWallis, a Glenn Howard conquest – there’s more, much more, to this ‘Mr Smooth’ than you’d everimagine – while Alastair Collins, in his most believable role to date, plays enigmatic Sam Blaine, one ofwhose hobbies is amateur detective work. On cue, the real thing arrives in the person of Det. Insp.Appleton, played, rather too intelligently for such stock characters, by John Matsen. Rounding out thecast is Adrian Heness as Very Tall Remick – shades of J.B. Priestley’s “An Inspector Calls” (there’s a cluethere!) - and Catlin Mackintosh, an English ‘au pair’ who spends most of her time offstage in thedressing room. But be assured - not with the Very Tall Man! Fran Edward’s set design suits the play and the stage is well dressed, with stock (though hideous red!)sofa, chairs and red and black cushions ‘downstage centre’; alcohol, especially sherry, brandy andwhiskey in various decanters (usually ‘upstage right’ in plays of this type), and the ubiquitous telephone‘up centre’, giving the doorbell some fierce competition in the irritating, “Oh! Not again!” stakes. With all windows presumably in the ‘fourth wall’, Mike Philips could have lit the set with much moreimagination; in every scene, all looks the same, though times change from afternoon to evening to latenight to morning - and this community theatre is blessed with a good supply of lights. And an aside, asthe play is set in early January, the depth of an English winter, more overcoats, hats, gloves, scarvesand winter-weight clothes might have helped the look of an otherwise authentic-looking 90s wardrobe. It’s perhaps a museum piece for young theatre goers, but “Suddenly at Home” will warm the hearts ofits well-served older patrons. *Fran Edwards and Jamie Wright are reviewers for Adelaide Theatre Guide.