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Posted on 07/08/2019 in Category 1

North Devon Now Reviews Opening Night Of Wife Begins At Forty

North Devon Now Reviews Opening Night Of Wife Begins At Forty

Tonight my wife and I went to the first night of "Wife Begins At Forty" at the Landmark Theatre in Ilfracombe. I have to say that it far exceeded our expectations! The cast all gave superb performances worthy of any West End production or TV sitcom. Each and every one of them totally captured their character and it would be impossible to single out any individual over any other:  that being said, the actor playing Leonard reminded me of a young Nicholas Lyndhurst (Butterflies) and the actor playing 'Bernard' of Ballard Berkeley (The Major from Fawlty Towers). Such was the dedication of the entire cast to capture the spirit of this Ray Cooney masterpiece. The play deals with a quite sensitive subject in an endearingly funny manner. It makes you realise that life can at times cast doubt as to whether you are getting it right and what you should do if it turns out you are not, but also that you are not alone and pretty much everyone has different and often hilarious ways of dealing with marriage issues. It leaves you feeling that most mid-life crises can be resolved with the help of friends, communication, and laughter, and we certainly were treated to plenty of the latter this evening. As an old 'ham' with a bit of (admittedly amateur) acting under my belt I know that first nights can often have a few teething troubles but tonight the performance was faultless and by the final curtain I can honestly say that we hadn't laughed so much for a long time. I heartily recommend that you go to see this brilliant play performed by this wonderful cast whilst you can, ( but probably without children under 16 as there are sexual references which may embarrass you and/or them !)

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