Last Legs, Roger Hall’s latest play, proves his ongoing competence at light entertainment. In the “Cambridge” Retirement Home, his flawed, recognisable characters interact with results ranging from mawkish to hilarious. On the night I attended, an almost full house responded with increasing engagement and much laughter.

 

The action is carried by a competent cast. Mark Hadlow as a former real estate agent and chair of the Residents’ Committee was prominent but every member of the cast gave handsome performances. Alison McGuigan, the activist, developed some surprising tender moments. Ray Henwood, a retired academic, delivers his lines with nuance and moves with impeccable timing. Catherine Wilkin purrs in the Kitty role. Louise Wallace’s character Trish seemed increasingly disappointed. Margaret-Mary Hollins developed the Helena character with poignant effect.

With a Retirement Home profile in this play of four women to two men, particularly in a light comedy, there is bound to be sexual interest, and this play doesn’t disappoint. But sombre notes are struck too. The characters notice a hearse pulling up on more than one occasion. The four women have alternate roles as very elderly women, meeting to play board games or cards. The development of this group proves one of the most deft commentaries on the ultimate reality underpinning (yes, a pun) the title Last Legs. And the comic opportunities in those elderly characters are seized, and conveyed with power. The audience loved those characters.

Two production features deserve mention. The set design suggested a chess board with only one white square lit, and a pawn isolated on a square up the wall. Music from the 1960’s (remember Bert Kaempfert’s Swinging Safari, for example?) situates the memories of some residents. Sympathetic set design and music contributed positively to the production.

The target audience may be those above 50 but this is reliable entertainment for anyone who can be pleased by the work of a seasoned writer with a highly professional cast. An enjoyable night out, and an opportunity to think about how the traits we exhibit during our active lives continue to dog us when we are on our last legs.

John Adams is an Auckland writer, author of Briefcase (AUP, 2011), winner of the Jessie Mackay Prize for Best First Poetry Book published in 2011, and the Elbow Stories (Steele Roberts, 2013).  John has recently published Rumpelstiltskin Blues a second volume of poetry  John’s band  “Don’t Judge Me” (a sextet) plays original compositions, song and spoken word. “Don’t Judge Me” is available to play at private and public functions.  John Adams can be contacted at yellowskip@xtra.co.nz

John’s review of the Tauranga Writer’s 2016 anthology Byline can be found in the WORDS archive

John Adams reads at the launch of Rumpelstiltskin Blues 2017. Photo Rosemary Balu

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