Theatre at the Mill, Newtownabbey
6 – 31 December
Spare a thought for those valiant souls who staff A&E departments on Christmas Eve. Writers/actors Caroline Curran and Julie Maxwell have done just that, introducing their respective experiences as new mother and new wife into this sparky offering for the festive season.
Their stage chemistry as nurses Cindy and Ella is based on long personal friendship and finely honed acting skills. The clock ticks towards midnight as a procession of cartoonish characters stumble into the safe haven of the emergency ward. The women find themselves confronting genuine dilemmas between professional duties and home life, not to mention the pressures imposed by a desperately overstretched health service.
Director Peter Ballance has marshalled his troops impressively in this slick situation comedy and the excellent cast don’t miss a beat in a total of 16 contrasting roles.
Along with their eccentric Ward Sister (Abigail McGibbon) and a handsome junior doctor (Patrick Buchanan), Cindy and Ella juggle the needs of, amongst others, Santa Dave with a toy soldier stuck in his rear end, an elf with a trapped jaw, a flatulent donkey, a drunken singing cowboy (James Doran), a chaotic young woman in labour, a Polish woman and her dog…
This mix of lunacy and pathos elicits laughter and sorrow in an unpretentious, entertaining show that does what it says on the tin.
Previously published on The Stage – 7 December 2017
The Even Hand 