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FLYING UNDER BRIDGES
A stage adaptation by Sarah Daniels based on the novel by Sandi Toksvig
Venue: Watford Palace 2005
Directed by Joyce Branagh




Cast
Eve Marshall Julia Hills
Psychiatrist Neil McCaul
Lillian Cameron Julie Legrand
Pe Pe Cameron Patricia Gannon
William Cameron Anthony Kernan
Adam Marshall Neil McCaul
John Clarke Daniel Pirrie
Shirley Marshall Patricia Gannon
Inge Holbrook Julie Legrand
Tom Marshall Anthony Kernan

Review

Flying Under Bridges grabs the audience from the outset as Eve Marshall (Julia Hills) explains to a prison psychiatrist that she never meant to kill her daughter's husband to be, especially not on their wedding day. Through a series of flashbacks, this dark comedy looks at the reasons and events leading up to the crime. Although slow at times, there are many laugh-aloud moments, such as Eve's husband Adam (Neil McCaul) donning a Shirley Bassey outfit - complete with fitted gold lame evening gown - and belting out I Am What I Am.

Many of the cast play two roles each, with McCaul also offering a wonderful dry wit as the psychiatrist. Julie Legrand takes on the role of Eve's mother Lillian and Eve's childhood friend Inge, who is now a TV personality, hiding her sexuality from the public and coping with her girlfriend's death from cancer. And it is here that the play suffers a little, for it not only deals with these issues but also those of asylum seekers, menopause and religion. There is also a speech from Eve's activist son Tom (Anthony Kernan) about the plight of the planet that seems very serious and very out of place. However, despite this issue overload, the comedy wins through most of the time, occasionally descending into true farce, with cooked cats being fed to the family and a corpse being pushed around in a wheelchair. And by the time Eve finally reveals how she accidentally killed her daughter's fiancée, she has the audience completely on her side, a tribute to both the acting talent of Hills and some delicate direction from Joyce Branagh.