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Trouble and strife at the monthly meetings of a local garden club are at the heart of Gone to Seed, an amusing community theatre offering from Mosgiel’s Fire Station theatre.
Written by former Dunedin playwright Tim Hambleton and directed by Heidi McGregor, the play was greeted with delight by a capacity audience on Sunday afternoon, including a large contingent from a local garden club.
Guffaws and murmurs of recognition could be heard across the audience as the play’s comic tale of a gardening club, struggling for members and accused of dealing drugs by the local church’s embittered Reverend, unfolded.
The accusation is all part of a campaign to kick the club out of meeting at the church hall, but the actions of an inept and dodgy detective derail the Reverend’s plans.
Experienced local actors Campbell Thomson and Cheyne Jenkinson give strong performances as the Reverend and the very off-kilter detective, bringing plenty of comedy to the fore.
Standing firm in opposition to the Reverend and his henchman are the garden club, who may be a a bit health-challenged (the taking of handfuls of pills at cuppa time is very funny), a touch deaf, and somewhat confused, but with grit and determination.
Actors Alison Ayers, Kay Masters, Miriama Harman, Crispin Garden-Webster, Peter Whigham, Doug Leggett, and Anne-Marie Amende, do a sterling job of depicting an array of fun, archetypal characters, keeping the dialogue flowing pretty well throughout.
Costumes by Stephne Joyce and Irene Wilson help to highlight the gradual shift from winter to summer, and quick changes are nicely handled.
The play is performed on an effective, split stage — featuring the Reverend’s office to one side and a simple, well-realised church hall setting to the other, designed by stage manager Christine Wilson. This setting enables speedy scene changes with lighting designed by Alex Templeton, helping to keep the action moving forward.
All in all, the Firestation Theatre’s production of Gone to Seed is an entertaining take on clubs that are the heart and soul of the community.
Performances of the play continue from September 25-27.