ME AND MY FRIEND

Corn Exchange, Dorchester

FOUR people grappling with mental health issues is the subject of Gillian Plowman’s drama that bravely tackles what was once an unspoken tragedy within many families.

Locally based Somerleigh Players field a strong team under the direction of Mel Hooley as they explore the problems of four people undergoing rehabilitation in a couple of flats, trying to help each other to repair their broken lives.

Kevin Hanssen is Bunny, a workaholic whose marriage has collapsed, Phil Newman is Oz, a sex obsessed postman with a penchant for parcels, Stella Hollis is Robin whose troubled relationship with her son led to his death and Georgie Willis is Julia, a former sex worker with a serious guilt problem.

As they slowly reveal their secrets, the script begins to show us that our society still has a long way to go in helping mental health sufferers to deal with a variety of issues.

The two men in their flat practise being interviewed for jobs while the two women upstairs plan an impossible holiday to France while collecting empty soft drink cans to help finance the trip, all of them delusional and in denial.

But when the foursome meet for a party, the touch paper is lit and their fears are revealed in a thought-provoking play that is neatly interspersed with occasional laughter.

Amazingly sensitive performances by all four actors in this open stage production reinforce still further the enviable reputation of the Somerleigh Players as a drama group to take seriously.

The company is also hosting a one-man production starring Kevin Hanssen of Dickens, the Master Storyteller at various venues in the coming week, starting on Thursday (22) at Dorset County Museum in Dorchester and continuing at Briantspuddle on Friday (23), Frampton on Friday September 30 and Poundbury on Saturday October 1.

MARION COX