by John Godber

8th - 17th January 2009

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Dexter Whitehead, the play’s director with actor and Patron of The Grange Players, Jeffrey Holland

Birmingham Evening Mail

Rating ****

The action, and there is plenty of it, is set in a health hydro and the players get full marks for making the hard work believable - largely because they are really working hard.
Kate Rock has a double role as Chloe and Zoe, the rhyming high priestesses of exercise and enjoyment, and she somehow not only manages to speak clearly while going for the burn - she also looks happy in doing so. Full marks for a great effort that doesn’t look as if it’s an effort at all.
Mary Whitehouse, as the philosophical, elderly Gertrude, makes the most of John Godber’s humour while achieving perfect clarity without raising her voice. All this while contemplating the possibility of a bungee jump.
Carl Horton also scores as a latter-day Lothario, three times married and not averse to trying his luck with the delightfully long-suffering Shirley (Samantha Camp), wife of Don, the grumbling hypochondriac plumber created so amusingly by Adrian Venables.
Margaret Wills and Tim Gough complete a splendid team - who are backed by an efficient stage crew as well as the attractive sets designed by director Dexter Whitehead.
The production runs until Saturday.
John Slim

Is this the perfect play to start the New Year after all the turkey, plum pudding and chocs consumed over the Christmas period?
You would have to consider John Godber’s comedy a pretty good choice, set as it is in the Scardale Hall Health Hydro where Don and Shirley Weston are trying to relax and maybe rescue an ailing marriage.
An assortment of other characters are there, too, ranging from fitness fanatic Ken Blake to loaded widow Gertrude Tate, all ready to take their punishment on trampolines, running machines, squash, swimming and other exercises to fight the flab.
Adrian Venables and Samantha Camp are a hoot as desperate Don and sex-starved Shirley, the latter producing a piece of sculpture which startles her husband and the audience, some of whom can see their own reactions in full length mirrors at the back of the excellent set.
Kate Rock sparkles in the dual role of leggy blonde fitness coach Zoe and sexy masseuse Chloe, while Carl Horton delivers a breathless performance as the boastful Blake who offers a cheeky cure for the Westons’ problems.
An amusing contribution, too, from Mary Whitehouse as Gertrude, while young Tim Gough does well in a variety of roles.
Well directed by Dexter Whitehead and produced by Christine Whistance, the play includes some fascinating musical spots during scene changes.
Gym and Tonic winds down on Saturday January 17.

Paul Marston