Priory's Our Day Out teaches the teachers a thing or two
- ann-evans
- Sep 6
- 3 min read
Our Day Out by Willy Russell, directed by Bev Avis-Dakin & Nicky Main, at The Priory Theatre, Kenilworth from 5 - 13 September.
Review by Ann Evans
It was back to school for the Priory Theatre’s Our Day Out by Willy Russell, with all the chaos of organising a group of excited school children from a deprived area, enjoying a rare coach trip to a castle in Wales.
Nine kids – some unruly, some mischievous and some very sweet, a teacher (Mr Briggs) played excellently and loudly by Ben Smith who didn’t want to be there, and saw all pupils as badly behaved, insolent horrors who only responded to being shouted at. Fortunately, the teacher who organised the trip, Mrs Kay, warmly played by Amelia Webster is a kind, empathetic woman who understands the almost hopeless future the kids have in store with the poverty and unemployment around the area and simply wants the kids to have a lovely day out.
We also have the assistance of two teachers Susan and Sunny played by Olivia Cunningham and Suneil Bagri respectively, who didn’t have much authority over the kids – until Susan found her own way of dealing with the cheeky youngster Reilly (Antonio Pinheiro).
Reilly like all the nine young cast members played their individual characters to perfection. No one forgot their lines, and all delivered loudly and clearly. Their actions, play fights, boisterousness and timing were faultless and very natural. Well done to those youngsters some of whom were already seasoned actors on the Priory and other theatre’s stages, while others were making their acting debuts.
Molly Dearing played Carol, an important role in the story. She has only been doing theatre for two years, although has been a dancer since the age of three. Her character came across well as a quiet, studious girl who, after discovering the peacefulness of Wales did not want to return home. The fact of Carol going missing became a turning point in how Mr Briggs saw the children from then on.
Equally excellent performances by the other youngsters, namely: Hannah Amelia Richards as Linda a fun-loving, flirtatious character who liked to embarrass their poor, inexperienced teacher Sunny. Charlie Andrews as Digga, Jasmin Dobo as Karen, Isabella Wheatley as Charlotte, Jack Shenton-Thompson as Andrews, Francesca Reid as Tiffany and Toby Clarke as Kevin.
Playing the coach driver was Alex Brown – who really did come across as a typical bus driver – apart from the fact he had a hip flask! Great performance by him as he steered the coach along the winding lanes. Loved the way the Priory set designers and builders had rigged up a very believable coach that they all travelled in, which later served as the jagged rocks of a Welsh cliff.
And last but not least are Becky Young who played two roles along the way, including a zoo keeper; also Ruth Jones who took three roles including the Head Mistress; and the very funny Ernie Boxall who played three roles – all portrayed with great humour and personality. My favourite – the school Lollipop Man at the very start of the play.
A really enjoyable production, very funny, with a string of sometimes quite short scenes as the school trip stopped at the occasional café, the zoo, the castle, the beach but all linked together with the clever use of music from the late 1970s and 1980s when the story was set: we had snippets of Madness, Electric Light Orchestra, Slade and many other favourites.
There wasn’t the teary emotion in Our Day Out as you’d experience in Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers for example, but a really enjoyable play, excellently performed.
For tickets call the Ticket Source on 0333 666 3366 or go to: https://www.priorytheatre.co.uk/whatson/our-day-out
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