Boy Meets Girl Story With a Twist
Tryst has first London outing for 20 years and the Tabard does it proud says Penny Flood
Can a worm turn? This is the question asked by this play; however horrible a person is, can they really change if they meet the right person? And the answer is........This is a boy meets girl story with a twist, a two hander with Natasha J Barnes as the gorgeous Adelaide, so sweet and vulnerable and innocent, with a heart rending body image problem and Fred Perry as the rotten through and through George Love. If Fred looks familiar, it's because he's a director of the Tabard. In real life he's very charming with a lovely smile so it's entertaining to see these qualities transferred to such a rotter.
It's set some time towards the end of the nineteenth century with the sound of horses clip clopping and neighing in the background.
Chatting to the audience, George explains his modus operandi, happy to admit he's a conman who never pays his bills. He seeks out vulnerable young women who've some cash stashed away, charms them, marries them, takes their money and disappears. He's also boastful and ignorant and some of his lines are very funny, not unlike Del Boy from Only Fools and Horses. What George looks out for are girls who wear brooches that look too classy for their working class clothes. That way he works out they are the ones with a bit of cash stashed away somewhere and it seems to work.
Adelaide is a talented milliner who has to work in the back of the shop with 'Rosie with the teeth' because her boss says she too fat to meet the customers. When she talks to the audience she tells us about her problems with her weight and how she's tried to diet, then lets slip that an aunt has left her £50 (a fortune in those days) and a pretty brooch that she wears all the time. Alarm bells ring.
Of course George sees the brooch and homes in on her, but suddenly, just when a devastated audience can't believe what they've seen, things take a surprising turn, keeping the audience guessing: will he, won't he, will she, won't she - right until the end.
I loved the scenery, the way it switches from hat shop to boarding house, there's a movable doorway and a tiled fireplace that with a bit of a clean would have come up nicely. There's even a fire in the grate and a gas lamp on the wall.
A Tabard in-house production, it's the first time it's been seen in London since 1997, and they've done it proud.
Tryst by Karoline Leach runs until 5 November from Tuesday till Saturday at 7.30pm with a matinee on Saturdays at 4pm. It is suitable for ages 15 and up and tickets, priced £19.50, £16.50 concessions are now available online.
The Tabard is 2 Bath Road in Chiswick, just round the corner from Turnham Green Tube. Call 0208 995 6035 or email info@tabardtheatre.co.uk for more information.
Penny Flood
October 18, 2017