Same Time Next Year: A delightful opener for this year’s festival
Kudos to the Classic Theatre Festival for delivering a warm production with an authentic feel both in terms of the chemistry between the two actors and in being true to each segment of the period covered. As directed by Laurel Smith, this cohesive production features fine performances and great comic timing from Lana Sugarman as Doris and Scott Clarkson as George, enhanced by the quality of the technical aspects. – Iris Winston, Capital Critics Circle
Perth Festival delivers a solid revival of Same Time Next Year
There are only two characters on stage, but thanks to the performances of Scott Clarkson and Lana Sugarman, we are conscious of other lives at play — unseen lives, yes, but ones that assume their own reality in Laurel Smith’s beautifully modulated production. These two performers take full advantage of Bernard Slade’s crackling comic dialogue. They trade the funny one-liners with an ease indicative of the potent on-stage chemistry existing between them. But there’s also genuine tenderness in the relationship we’re seeing. Sugarman, a delightful actress, gives us a Doris with a readiness to accept the funny side of life, but she also reveals a woman with the strength and resilience to respond to change and challenge within the emerging feminist culture of the day. Clarkson, a nimble comedian, finds an unusual depth of character in George. He also is quite astonishing in giving us a man who is gradually getting older as the evening progresses. It’s an achievement that goes beyond adding a moustache to the upper lip or pencilling a bit of grey into the sideburns. – Jamie Portman, Capital Critics Circle
