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Visiting Hour

June 2015

Play

Visiting Hour is made up of a collection of acts, some comedic others of a more serious nature, ridden with emotion and full of pathos, all based on interactions within a hospital setting. "It is packed with sharp lines and cruel characterisation, mingling hilarity with a real disgust for humanity at its most mindlessly objectionable" Daily Telegraph

Review of Visiting Hour
By
Trevor Guest
-
Noda
This play by Richard Harris billed as “something completely different” is a series of six independent segments all based in a hospital ward. The first segment PLASTER opened on a superb set stage of a hospital ward which was entirely authentic. Eric was immobile encased in plaster recovering from a car crash. His wife Helen (Christine Kislak) was visiting him and questioning his story of why he was parked in the dark and where were his trousers? A very funny opening scene and excellently acted by both. The second segment, a solo piece with an old man in a wheel chair reminiscing about his life, at times happily but often shouting anger at his life in general and his family in particular (a superb monologue by Roy Hodges.) The third segment SHOW BUSINESS has a television crew covering the first quadruple heart transplant with a dozen characters leaving chaos in the ward with hospital staff and family members was excellently performed and was very funny indeed. The Second Act began with GOING HOME a conversation between two patients Cheryl (Karen Evans) and Trisha (Penny Sant) was very well performed ending in a reluctance to return home. KEEPING MUM was next up when Pauline (Natalie Gardiner) talks about her mother to an elderly patient (Barbara Hinton) but all is not what it seems. The final segment MAGIC a comedy involving six characters visiting patients and doing more harm than good.. The whole evening was a delight and the high quality of performance illustrated the strength of talent in the Company.