Review by Kate Watkins in the Accrington Observer Friday 24 October 2008

Oswaldtwistle Players presented Elizabeth Gaskell’s Mary Barton (adapted by Rona Munro) at Oswaldtwistle Civic Theatre

Ambitious play grips audience

Bringing to life 19th century Manchester is not an easy task but that is just what Oswaldtwistle Players have done in their production of Mary Barton. Based on Elizabeth Gaskell’s dramatic novel, the story is a tale of love, loyalty and murder, and explores the class struggle that was prevalent during the days of the dark satanic mills.

Adapted by Rona Munro, the story begins with young Mary Barton (Lucy Fitzpatrick) and her father John Barton (John Dewhurst) saying goodbye to Mary’s Aunt Esther (Clare Highton) who has ambitions of something better than a working class life – a feeling she passes on to Mary.

When the audience next meets Mary (now played by Sophie Fitzpatrick), she is a young woman who initially shuns the life Jem Wilson (S.P. Flanagan) offers her.

The chemistry between the two romantic leads was vague to begin with but intensified once Jem’s wealthy love rival, Harry Carson (Leon Florentine), came onto the scene. His depiction of Harry left me wondering if he was indeed a rake or just a rich man’s son who had fallen victim to the evils of his society.

The younger members of the cast worked well together and their regional accents were not overdone.

Hannah Kidd’s direction was spot on as it was both sharp and emotive.

The multi functional set included what can only be described as gallows doubling as doorways, perhaps alluding to the conflict within the story.

If a dramatic Victorian love story floats your boat, then Mary Barton is not to be missed.

Review transcribed from NODA magazine

This was the first time I had seen this play and I was extremely impressed by the cast, direction and concept that the director had achieved.

The whole cast performed and delivered their individual characterisations to perfection and, considering this was their opening night, they attacked the script with pace and good delivery; all worked as a team to give a faultless performance.

Mary Barton was played by a super young actress called Sophie Fitzpatrick, who gave a faultless performance.

There are far too many cast members to mention individually although I should like to mention two of the youngest: Young Mary played by Lucy Fitzpatrick and Matthew Clark who played Tom’s Ghost.

The costumes looked good with great attention to detail and the set worked well. The opening of act one was super and the tension continued to build up to the trial in court. Hannah should be proud of the production. Even with so many complex characters the whole play went with gusto.

This really worked for me. I saw a cutting edge performance from this group of talented individuals. It was one of the best plays I have seen, well done.

(Kevin Rawcliffe)