It's A Wonderful Life

It's A Wonderful Life

It's A Wonderful Life by Mary Elliott Nelson
Production Date: 28th - 30th November 2024
Directed by: John McCormick

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Photography by Andrew McKerlie: www.mckerlie.co.uk

Wychwood Players - ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’
Friday 29th November 2024
Review by Steve Banyard

How do you recreate one of the all-time Christmas classic movies for the stage? One that’s a perennial  Christmas favourite shown on mainstream TV every year. 

Armed with the talents of enigmatic leading man, James Stewart, and the creative direction of Frank Capra,  ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ is widely renowned as one of the greatest films ever made. Transferring it to English  AmDram is a tough ask when audience expectations will be sky high. Making it contemporary is potentially  risky. 

Wychwood Players perform in the New Beaconsfield Hall at Shipton-under-Wychwood in front of a  dedicated following. This, though, is the sort of production that can reach beyond its stalwarts for support.  It’s so well known that it’s bound to attract a wider audience. As play director John McCormick observes in  his programme notes, ‘it’s treasured as a timeless, anytime anywhere story’, albeit much of the story  centres on themes of cruelty, bullying, despair and suicide. When it comes to delivering the heart-warming  finale, a production, amateur or otherwise, had better deliver. The good news is that this one does. 

To make it present day (and wisely avoid the cost of hiring 1940s costumes), this version is still set in  Bedford Falls, but this time a Bedford Falls located somewhere in England. No need for potentially dodgy  American accents. 

Let’s talk staging. The play begins with angels in heaven (Gail Parsons, Claire Shaw & Sarah Gilbey as  Clarissa - a modern twist on the film’s Clarence) but then it needs to take you to Bedford Falls and various  locations within. Cleverly, Simon Johnson, Bob Days & the team created a slightly extended stage so angels  could do their thing stage left while the main action was front and centre. More than than, the ingenious use  of rotating location markers behind the actors place you wherever you need to be. Simple. Effective. 

Sound & lighting too play a big part in the drama. Anthony Gofton & Tony Mellerick ensure the creative  effects add to the narrative despite a complex story. Their efforts help the audience avoid confusion and  keep the pace moving. So far so good. 

It’s a youthful cast. The James Stewart character, George Bailey is played by William Gofton in his first  leading role, and we soon meet best friend Sam Wainwright (Samuel Nel) and brother Harry (Alfie Arnold).  Sam is played with great enthusiasm. Harry is the cool hero, but George is the lead, and thankfully the  casting is spot on. William Gofton is effortless to watch and understated when he needs to be. Nothing  forced. A total natural. It’s because of his performance you get drawn into the plot. You care. 

Experience is still deployed in key roles - Rik Yapp as Gower the Pharmacist, John McCormick as Uncle  Billy and Phillip Croxson as the villainous Potter, who plots to take control of the town & curiously goes  unpunished for his wicked deeds. Whatever made them cast someone with a real life banking background?  (Wink!) Suitably delicious devilment ensues! 

Alice Spiers is an able foil for George in the Donna Reed character of Mary Bailey, Amanda Rowley is  suitably all sex & satin as the ‘floozy’ with Sue Mellerick the right side of officious as Gert the Cop. Cameos  from Vikki & Bob Days, Hazel Hughes, Simon Johnson & Rachel Read give the townsfolk reasons for us to  care about George. 

The production’s setting in 2024 allows it to include mobile phones, a building society open until 6 (although  I’ve never found one), along with Euros’ football and even COVID, but the movie’s core themes remain the  primary focus throughout. Essentially highlighting that everyone has a value. The absence of anyone has a  ripple effect. Individuals matter. 

Thankfully, this production keeps the audience gripped for the duration and is imaginatively brought into the  21st century. It’s nigh on impossible to replicate the feel-good, tear-jerking shot of James Stewart, Donna  Reed and children by the Christmas tree as Clarence/Clarissa get their angel wings, but frankly, the stage  version benefits from this new modern take. Importantly, it also delivers on the emotional punch at the end.  Despite serious heavyweight subject matter, audiences leave smiling. A staging that respects the classic  film and succeeds in its own right.

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