{"id":211,"date":"2015-01-24T16:42:30","date_gmt":"2015-01-24T16:42:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cpwp.comptonplayers.co.uk\/?page_id=211"},"modified":"2015-02-18T18:40:51","modified_gmt":"2015-02-18T18:40:51","slug":"nobodys-perfect","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.comptonplayers.co.uk\/comptonplayers-c\/?page_id=211","title":{"rendered":"Nobody’s Perfect"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Simon Williams<\/span><\/p>\n

15th – 18th November 2006<\/h2>\n

Shy Leonard is anxious to break into print and sends book after book to Love Is All Around, a feminist publisher dedicated to writing “for women by women”. Editor Harriet rejects his efforts until Leonard submits a novel, based on his experiences as a single parent, under the pseudonym Myrtle Banbury. Eventually Myrtle must appear and Leonard has no choice but to assume her identity. Then he falls in love with Harriet. . .<\/p>\n

\"nobody's_perfect_prog\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Cast<\/strong><\/p>\n

Harriet: Mary Warrington
\nLeonard: Nick Roberts
\nDee-Dee: Naomi Read
\nGus: H Connolly
\nWillie Briggs: Philip Orr<\/p>\n

Produced by Eric Saxton, assisted by Phil Prior\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Newbury Weekly News review<\/h3>\n
\n

Sometimes it\u2019s hard to be a woman<\/h2>\n

After many rejections, shy divorced statistician and aspiring novelist Leonard decided to enter his novel under the pseudonym Myrtle Banbury into a competition mounted by a feminist publishing house Love is All Around, for women by women and he won. So what did he do when the editor decided she wanted to meet him face to face to discuss terms?<\/p>\n

The answer, with the lead character dressing up in drag, descended into complete farce and unleashed a very complicated and funny chain of events.<\/p>\n

Could he convince her that he was a woman and could he trust his roguish father and streetwise daughter who eventually became his \u2018partners in crime\u2019.<\/p>\n

All was revealed in Compton Players\u2019 highly enjoyable production of Nobody\u2019s Perfect<\/strong> by Simon Williams.<\/p>\n

A small but balanced cast worked hard, and succeeded in getting the laughs, and director Eric Saxton must have been pleased.<\/p>\n

As Leonard, Nick Roberts handled his huge role impressively and displayed a gift for comic timing (particularly when he was disguised as Myrtle Banbury) and Mary Warrington gave us a well-drawn character who we could really warm to.<\/p>\n

Gus, Leonard\u2019s father, is the Don Juan of the local day centre, (and not averse to a spot of karaoke) and H Connolly brought out all the incorrigible but charming elements of this character.<\/p>\n

Finally, in a debut performance with the Compton Players, was Naomi Read as Dee-Dee, Leonard\u2019s daughter. This was an excellent, natural and well-acted performance.<\/p>\n

A good set, lighting cues and music complemented the strong cast. A frantic scene at the end involving telephones and a door entry system was handled particularly well.<\/p>\n

With all the ingredients of disguise deception and subterfuge, the resulting comedy and happy ending, this was another success for Compton Players, who are celebrating their diamond jubilee next year with a production of Macbeth in the autumn.<\/p>\n

TREVOR DOBSON<\/p><\/div>\n