David Benedict on theatre
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Your support makes all the difference.'It has all taken off much faster than we'd planned.' Adjoa Andoh and director Polly Irvin formed Wild Iris in 1992. Their first production, A Doll's House, was an immediate success, but they hit paydirt with a strikingly inventive production of a rediscovered restoration comedy, Love At A Loss.
'We've spent this year catching up with all the legal and administrative side of forming a company now that the Arts Council is funding us,' says Andoh. With project funding only contributing towards direct production costs, they haven't given up on their solo careers. 'At one point, Polly was on location in Derby acting in Peak Practice and I was filming Circles of Deceit for the BBC, and the only way we could work together was on the phone at midnight from hotel bedrooms.'
The revival at BAC is to be followed by a national tour. 'We're a multi-racial company and with a play that is so focused on women, it meant we could play all kinds of black, community and women's venues.'
The revival has a largely new cast, (gone, alas, is Vivienne Rochester) but in addition to excellent comedy from Peter Shorey, Lucy Fenwick returns with her sparkling performance as Lucilla. With Howard Saddler - an intriguing Othello at the Man in the Moon - playing opposite Andoh's commanding Lesbia (right) well-deserved success looks likely to be repeated.
'Love At A Loss' opens tomorrow at BAC (071-223 2223) See Beyond the West End, South
(Photograph omitted)
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