THE MAGNIFICENT THREE

Maumbury Rings, Dorchester

THERE’S a whole lot happening in the little town of Hope Springs way down west where strangers bring trouble and nobody is quite what they seem.

All of which means that the Miracle Theatre Company must be back in town and that calls serious silliness and an audience in the outdoor venue all intent on enjoying the fun, thanks to Dorchester Arts.

A cast of six bring songs, energy and wit into writer and director Bill Scott’s wild west comedy that features trains and transgender in equal measures as the plot revolves around a plan to bring the railroad into town while a gun-toting newcomer has a lot to hide under his tuxedo outfit.

Packed with crazy ideas in scenes which include a step ladder standing in for a horse, a slow motion punch-up and a pistol-packing pair of girls who scare witless all the card sharpers in the saloon bar, this is cowboy country as you have never seen in before.

Top of the bill is Rebecca Rowe as the saloon bar owner who packs a punch in every sense while Ciaran Clarke is her dastardly brother intent on making a mint from the railroad with Cat Lake as the mysterious stranger.

The Maumbury Rings setting proved to be slightly challenging at times as aircraft flew noisily overhead and with no sound system to back up the action, the actors’ lines were sometimes hard to follow and a substantial number of the audience left at half time, a pity as they missed a great show.

MARION COX