Hayfever, comedy not to be sneezed at

What better time of year to tackle a colourful farce than spring?  Grassington Player’s production, opening on 8^th May is a classic Noel Coward play, Hayfever, full of fizz and sparkle.

Director Andrew Jackson has put together a strong cast for this fast-paced pastiche of country house life in the 1920’s, with, among others, Paula Vickers playing the melodramatic mother, Judith Bliss, to his own long suffering patriarch.  Newcomer Sarah Vetch from Buckden shows that she knows her way round comedy, playing their daughter alongside accomplished Craven College drama student Tom Powell as her brother.  They are ably supported by strong performances from the rest of the cast, otherwise known as house guests.

Somewhere  between high farce and a comedy of manners, the play features the four eccentric members of the Bliss family and their outlandish behaviour when, without consulting each other, they each invite a guest to join them for the weekend. After a theatrical melee of flirtation, tangled relationships and melodrama, the unreasonable behaviour of the family finally drives their guests to flee while the Blisses are so engaged in their own row that they do not notice their guests’ furtive departure.

The play presents a wonderful opportunity for the Players backstage crew to maximise the Town Hall main stage to build and manage a traditional box-set and for the costume department to shine.

Tickets for the show, which runs from Thursday 8^th to Saturday 10^th May in the Devonshire Institute (Town Hall), are available in advance from Grassington Hub at £6, or on the day at £8.  Telephone 01756 752222.  Performances commence at 7.30pm.