Bear Pit serves up evening of pure entertainment

Wyrd Sisters, Bear Pit Theatre, Rother Street, Stratford, Sept 26-29. This was my first visit to the Bear Pit Theatre and I’m sure it won’t be my last. What a charming, friendly theatre, created 10 years ago to support local arts groups. There was a lovely community feel among the crew and this created the right ambience for an evening of pure entertainment. Terry Pratchett’s Wyrd Sisters is staged by The Phoenix Players, an amateur theatre group that has been running in Stratford since 1945. The story was adapted for the stage by Stephen Briggs and directed by Phoenix Players’ Nick Johnson – and what a fantastic job he did for his debut as director – as well as playing one of the guards. The Wyrd Sisters are three witches: Granny Weatherwax played by Margot McCleary who is the rather severe chief witch in this little coven; then there’s the very likeable, pipe smoking, pink Dr Marten boot-wearing Nanny Ogg alias Karen McDonald; and the sweet and innocent novice witch, Magrat Garlick played by Freya Boardman. Together, they plan for the exiled Prince to return to his rightful place as head of the land, and to bring the wicked Duke Leonal Felmet (Adam Clarke) and the even wickeder Lady Felmet (Katie Cherry), to justice for murdering the king. It’s funny, and the characters play their parts with total commitment, each one bringing a unique touch to their role, and making the whole thing a real pleasure to watch. With 23 scene changes, it’s a snappily paced story, certainly no chance to get bored, and hats off to the boys and girls backstage plus the lighting and sound engineers, who kept the whole thing moving along so smoothly. A great production, a lot of fun for the audience – and I think for the cast too.