Restitution by Emily Juniper

A classic two hander: In the play Robert has one objective - to find the painting stolen from his Grandparents by Nazis. His quest takes him to a modest German gallery where he finds the missing artwork. Problems arise when the Gallery assistant is unwilling to return it to him. She has claims of her own on the painting, and so between them, the fate of a man's heritage hangs in the balance.

'Can 70 years of grieving be absolved with the return of a picture?'
Evocative, touching and ultimately thought provoking, Restitution follows two characters on a complex and compelling journey through a labyrinth of art, tyranny and inheritance.

Approximately 20% of Western art was looted by Nazis, and there are well over 100,000 items that have not been returned to their rightful owners. The story is fictional but the painting the play focuses on is real 'Hero und der trauernde Amor' by Eduard Bendermann which remains lost to the estate of Max Stern.

Performance Dates: 5th & 6th June 2009

Review

Surgeons don't wear masks to prevent infections...it's to stop their hapless patients from ever identifying them! This is just one of the pronouncements from Chairman Ray - better known in Coventry as Pete Bagley - who is the shining light of the Criterion's latest production, It Can Damage Your Health.
Veteran thesp Pete has the lion's share of the best lines - but by no means all of them. Older audiences might remember the roots of this light-hearted hospital sit-com, which during the 1980s starred James Bolam, Richard Wilson and Peter Bowles in the television series Only When I Laugh.
And thanks to Pete - who transforms himself into a Ronnie Barker-style Fletch of the NHS - it's hard to stop chuckling as hapless new patient Gary (John Waters) and wealthy hypochondriac Charlie (Pete Gillam) share life stories while awaiting their fate.
Pete missed the occasional cue on Tuesday night but this hardly detracted from his overall tour-de-force for which the timing is critical. I felt as if director Doreen Belton might have shaved a few minutes dialogue here and there as the plot does sag slightly at the end of Act One. But with the mass of great one-liners continuing to flow from the characters on stage I can see she would have faced a dilemma.
A welcome must also go out to newcomer Susie Murphy (nurse Christine) and the rest of the cast for a hugely entertaining night out.
Barbara Goulden - ex-Coventry Telegraph

Review

Running Time 2 hours 45 minutes
This hugely ambitious production marks the amateur premier of Charles Dickens' sprawling tale of half-crazed criminals and thwarted passion.

Here we find jilted Miss Havisham, brought to menacing life by Debbie Relton Elves as she draws hapless Pip (Gareth Withers) into her deadly web, with the lure of the strutting Estella (Rebecca Fenlon).

I'm glad to say there were no weak links amongst this well cast company as it set out on its whirlwind Dickensian journey-although some amongst the audience might have found a little precis of the complex story in the programme would have added to their enjoyment.

Director Helen Withers says Great Expectataions is one of her favourite books and she was delighted to get the chance to show it to local audiences. The casting alone must have proved a superhuman task, even with the inclusion of two members of her own family.

I particularly liked Keith Railton's precise rendition of Jaggers, while John Fenner's Magwitch conjured suitable shudders down the spine in Act One followed by cringing embarrassment in Act Two.

Andy Chaplin was endearing as tongue tied blacksmith Joe and I enjoyed the pace and timing of the whole ensemble which, even on the first night, showed no outwad sign of nerves and looked as if they had been performing together for weeks.

This is a risky, fast paced venture with clever use of staging and music. It may occasionally confuse those who are not fans of the width and depth of Victorian novels...but even those will find it a fascinating theatrical experience.

Barbara Goulden

Review

Running time 2 hours 45 mins.

The not-so-genteel members of the Pendon Amateur Light Operatic Society have taken over the stage of the Criterion Theatre this week - and a right lot they are. There's poor Jon Elves trying to direct their paltry efforts at putting on a good show when all the time one of the cast is debating whether or not to run off with his wife, two others are rolling about the stage as they fight over the affections of the male lead, and there's some dodgy land deal going on.

Needless to say the results are hilarious in this Alan Ayckbourn classic directed by Annie Woodward.

But there are really two directors in A Chorus Of Disapproval - the second is the manic Mr Elves, really the 13th member of this cast of accomplished Criterion actors chosen for their surprisingly melodic singing voices. Jon plays "Welshman" Daffyd ap Llewellyn who, when he isn't on stage, is barking out instructions from the well of the audience and, at one point, from up in the lighting gantry causing everyone to swivel round.

The accent sounded authentic enough to my untutored ear and there's definitely a hint of a Welsh Basil Fawlty as he steamrollers on, completely oblivious to most of what's happening around him as shy newcomer Guy Jones (played by Paul Vickers), gets sucked into the murky waters of small town life.

One third of the Criterion's stage has been cleverly built to revolve, allowing audiences into the pub, homes and gardens of members of this fictitious operatic society. Particularly memorable is the scene in which Paul discusses dinner with the cast's resident sex siren, Fay Hubbard (admirably played by Cathryn Bowler) without realising he's the one on the menu.

I also enjoyed the cool, well-timed delivery of Anne Houston (Mrs Huntley-Pike) and the pathos of Anne-Marie Greene (Hannah) - such a contrast to the no-holds barred fight between fiesty Bridget (Gennie Holmes) and sulky Linda (Rebecca Fenlon) and the daft insistence of Bill Bosworth (Mr Huntley-Pike) that Guy is really a Scotsman.

Overall, I wouldn't have minded five to ten minutes trimmed off the running time but that would mean cutting the songs which would be a shame for this is a play within a play. The lyrical singing springs from the notion that they all think they're putting on a Welsh production of The Beggar's Opera. In truth they're laying before us a richman's feast of vintage comedy - with music.

Barbara Goulden Walters