With the dramatic climax of the first half comprising how to cut a sausage with a survival knife, Tim Firth’s all-female version of his Olivier-nominated comedy Neville’s Island is more Last of the Summer Wine than The Last Samurai.

Four middle-aged, middle-class, middle-managers from Salford find themselves stranded on a small island in the middle of the Lake District when their small boat goes belly up during a team-building exercise gone wrong. Cries of “rock!” repeatedly ignored by a lookout on the rocks.

Armed with an array of pots and pans, and spatulas, and toasting forks, the quarrelsome quartet are forced to plot escape routes and improvise flags and flares. But the distress signals which emerge in the dark night of the soul emanate from within.

“It’s just a question of hanging in there and surviving,” concludes a weary islander, as they goad and encourage one another to confront their demons. But what if the bright golden haze on the meadow is not the promise of a new dawn, but a ship passing in the night?

Directed by Theatre Director and Chief Executive of Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford, Joanna Read, this touring production lacks the dramatic depths and comedic heights of Tim Firth’s more famous plays and screenplays Calendar Girls and Kinky Boots. This is in part due to the wordy nature of the script, the tame nature of the exchanges and a lack of physical action on what is largely a static location.

That said, credit to set and costume designer Liz Cooke for creating a visually arresting backdrop whose translucent gauzes, rocky footings and gnarled branches hint at the distress signals which pulse beneath the characters’ stoic defences.

And kudos to the four-strong cast who give delightful individual and ensemble performances, particularly understudy Tracy Collier who stepped in for the injured Rina Fatania as the joke-averse Julie. Sara Crowe is frequently funny as the “Christian in the cagoule” Fay. As is Abigail Thaw as the sarcastic Denise. And Judy Flynn anchors the play (if not the boat) as the titular Captain.

Peter Callaghan
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