Manama Theatre Club lures playgoers with English farce

Manama : The Manama Theatre Club held an English farce play titled, “Move Over Mrs. Markham,” at the British Club in Adliya, for four nights in a row from April 12 to 15. 

April 12 and 14 witnessed a Tavern Theatre Night, including a special snack menu, whereas April 13 saw just the drama (regular theatre show) being played while the finale was splendidly spent with a 1970s themed dinner on April 15. The play, which was a traditional English farce set in the 1970s, hilariously exposed the intricacies, idiosyncrasies and complications that transpired when different sets of “hopeful lovers” decided to rendezvous at an apparently empty flat. 

In this play, “Nobody’s quite who they’re supposed to be, and everybody is someone else” – a cute quip from the play sums it up nicely. Full of good fun and humour, and tastefully risqué, it brings a smile to everyone’s face and the audience broke out in devout laughter time and again.

It was director Mike Franklin’s last play in Bahrain. Jennifer Cairns flawlessly played the lead part of quirky Joanna Markham, Khaled AlDoseri played suspiciously “gay” love-interest Alistair Spenlow and Guy Parker played the compliant and endearingly dishevelled husband Mr. Philip Markham.

In one particularly salacious argument, a lead actor smugly pointed out a logical fallacy: “Are you suggesting an undertaker shouldn’t go out with live people?”

There were many witty remarks sprinkled throughout the play like “She says she can’t do anything without a cup of tea.”

June AlSaffar, who came with her husband, said, “It was a delightful, light-hearted comedy, which took you out of your normal routine.”

Another playgoer, Tom Romanski, said, “It was very funny and well-acted. The storyline was intriguing and included lots of amusing surprises – definitely something different for Bahrain!”

The Manama Theatre Club is an amateur drama society that has been staging shows in Bahrain since 1979. It welcomes people of all acting abilities, “all potential drama queens, costume divas and technical nerds, from seasoned professionals to complete amateurs with no knowledge of theatre but a motivation to just get out there and give it a go.” 

If you are interested in joining or simply finding out more, send an email to manamatheatreclub.bahrain@gmail.com, follow their Instagram @mtcbahrain and like their Facebook page “Manama Theatre Club.” Stay tuned for more Manama Club Theatre plays including a “Chips, Curry and Comedy” night coming soon.