As a short diversion from studies I went a long with Mum and Jo yesterday afternoon to see a locally produced play, Brush with a Body.
The play was performed at the local auditorium, we were in the front row and had a good view of the set – a living room with back door to the garden at back, and a doorway leading off to other parts of the “house” on either side of the stage.
Written by an English playwright Maurice McLoughlin, the story is set in London a few years after the second world war. A situation comedy, it is about a middle-class family who discover a body stuffed inside the chimney of “father’s old study”. This creates a dilemma for the two elder siblings who wish to avoid scandal. The younger sibling is more concerned about being allowed to go out and meet her new boyfriend. A tug of war ensues between the three siblings trying to avoid scandal, prevent the news from creating shock for their widowed mother who is returning from holiday in Scotland.
The comedy emerges with the involvement of the Irish chimney sweep, a gossipy fellow who agrees to keep a lid on the scandal in return for certain considerations. When “mother” returns home her reaction to the news is quite unexpected and rather suspect as she is less concerned about scandal than the involvement of the local constabulary.
Naturally the police appear on the scene, although unaware of the situation in the house. They are searching for the runaway daughter who happens to be a patient of the psychiatrist elder sibling. Through a series of misunderstandings and wild assumptions the “body” is finally disposed of, the missing patient goes off with the youngest sibling’s boyfriend and mother telephones her friend in Scotland, who turns out to be her “dead” husband.
It turns out the body belonged to a thug who had been sent over to sort out the father while the family were evacuated from London during the war. The thug was killed accidentally from a fall down the stairs and the father, fearing reprisals from the thug’s mob boss, stuffed the body in the chimney. When a bomb hit the house during the London blitz, it provided the perfect opportunity for the father to disappear to Scotland.
An odd choice for an Australian theatre group, it was such a lame story it was quite funny! The acoustics weren’t too crash hot, with a number of live microphones hanging above the stage the dialogue sometimes drifted in volume, particularly as the actors moved across the stage. I enjoyed the acting talents of the Irish sweep and the detectives who seemed to perform to the greatest comic effect.
It was a nice diversion to study; at intermission time we had a lovely cup of tea and scone with jam and cream! Then had to move our seats as the rainstorm outside started blowing down through the ceiling vents!