"Bus Stop" by William Inge.

Venture Theatre, Ashby de la Zouche.

The play is set in a diner about 25 miles west of Kansas City in early March 1955. A freak snowstorm has halted the bus, with all roads blocked, and the eight characters (five on the bus) have a weather-enforced layover in the diner. 

Cherie, is the passenger with most to worry about. She’s been pursued by a twenty-one-year-old cowboy with a ranch of his own and the romantic methods of an unusually headstrong bull. The belligerent cowhand is right behind her, ready to sling her over his shoulder and carry her, alive and kicking, all the way to Montana. As a counterpoint to the main romance, the owner of the cafe and the bus driver find time to develop a friendship of their own; a middle-age scholar comes to terms with himself; and a young girl who works in the cafe also gets her first taste of romance.

This is the play version of the famous Marilyn Monroe film.

Grace Hoylard, played by Claire Kavanagh, is the owner of the Diner and has a flat right above it, which is fortunate for when she gets one of her occasional headaches, normally when the Kansas coach stops by, driven by Carl. What I love about Claire is her very natural acting style; everything she does is fluent and her relationships with the other characters are very down to earth, which is how the proprietor of any serving establishment should be, making this role very believable and realistic. When her character is found out, regarding her little "lie down", she merely confesses and explains to Elma that she has needs which keep her grounded.

Elma Duckworth is an intelligent, but naive and impressionable high school girl working as a waitress at the diner. Played by Mercedes Cook, this is another wonderful role for Mercedes, following on from Linda in "Ladies Unleashed" earlier on in the year. It takes a lot to play naivety right as it can swing to extremes, but Mercedes just gets it right as she holds on to every word uttered by Lyman and is swept along with the dangerous daydream that he presents to her. It's a good job that Elma has Auntie Grace to steady her whimsical notions of falling in love to fast!

Will Masters is the local sheriff and played by Frank Taylor. Frank is new to all this acting lark, and when pitched in, at the last minute I might add, with this seasoned cast, you can tell - but that's only because the rest of the cast have the acting experience. I have had enough experience in watching actors to know when they are nervous, and I know all actors get nerves, especially on opening night, so it shows to me. That said, despite needing to relax into the role more, Frank did a cracking job. As the play went on, I relaxed into Frank's performance and, even though no one else probably noticed, there was just one teeny tiny prompt, that came from another actor and not from the prompt, Frank was word perfect. 

Male actors are in great demand, and I know that Frank ended the play looking as if he really enjoyed this experience, as much as the audience certainly did, and I do hope that, now he has the bug, we'll see him in other productions. Everyone has to start somewhere and it's a massive step to take on stage. Despite what some people say, you're not born an actor, you have to get bitten by the bug, and I think Frank has been bitten. This was a big role for a debut, and you well and truly smashed it, now go on and start enjoying being a luvvie!

Dr. Gerald Lyman is a college philosophy professor who has taste for young women, especially Ms Duckworth. He also has a drinking problem, which creates some lovely comedy moments later on; let's face it, drunks can be incredibly amusing, especially when they are trying to appear sober! Played by Paul Smith I absolutely loved Paul's portrayal of this character. If you can imagine the delivery of W.C. Fields, then this is how Lyman was delivered on stage by Paul. His playing of a drunk was superb, and quite realistic; you will never hear Shakespeare's Romeo delivered with such comedy, and the timing was excellent. A point I noted when I reviewed Paul in his various roles in "Handbagged" in March this year.

Cherie, played by Rachel Wallis, is the pretty young woman who comes from a difficult "hill folk" background. She is an aspiring nightclub singer, sorry chanteuse,but has never worked above the level of "cheap dive". In the film, this role was played by Marilyn Monroe. I was really pleased to say that Cherie was played by Rachel, and not Rachel playing Monroe, playing Cherie. You could see a woman who was used to dealing with men who came to the nightclub she worked in and their attentions, but Rachel also brought out the vulnerable side of the character so well. 

Bo Decker, played by Josiah Taylor, is a brash young cowboy, orphaned at the age of ten, with boorish manners that hide a naivety almost as deep as Elma's. He believes that Cherie will be his bride, although she wants nothing to do with him. Josiah is new to Venture Theatre but you can see that he is not new to the stage because of the confidence that he has. This comes from being involved in a theatre group that I know well, Bright Lights Drama Club in Loughborough, and performing in college, and he is still only eighteen years old, although towering head and shoulders over his dad, Frank, you'd think that he was older.  Loved the macho bravado and the accent with Bo, but does he manage to win over the woman he wants to marry? Only one way to find out if Bo's tender change of attitude wins the day.

Virgil Blessing is an older, wiser cowboy who has become a father figure to Bo and serves as his head ranch hand. Dan Aucott plays this wise, guitar playing steady hand on the Bo Decker rudder. There's absolutely no urgency with Virgil and takes life as he finds it, while still managing to rein in Bo and attempt to keep him out of trouble, with not only the ladies, but the Sherrif of the town. A nice laid back performance by Dan, and we also get to witness another of his talents as well, by playing guitar, accompanying Cherie on "That Old Black Magic".

Carl is the bus driver, who has an ongoing "just passing through" relationship with Grace. Carl is played by Ron Ghosh. Ron is one of those theatre members that you want in a theatre group as he is a talented set dresser and builder, as well as a stage manager. He is also as confident on stage as being behind it, as this role shows. In playing Carl, the driver, he managed to tell the audience about his relationship with Grace, without telling the audience, if you know what I mean. A lovely world-weary character in Carl which creates a nice relaxed personality for Ron to play.

Directed by Martin Pritchard and Karen Heath. Apart from everything about the story and the portrayal of the story I loved, what I also noted were the little attention to details that were sprinkled throughout. The music used for the curtain up was Jim Reeves' "The Blizzard" - it set the scene. We find out about the snow blizzard really early on, and when the Sherrif and passengers entered the diner, there was snow on their hats and coats. The sound of the slap when Cherie smacked Bo resounded over the theatre. This was set in a diner, and there was real food and drink doled out to the clientele. Realism is of key importance for me, and that is what this production has.

Set design is by Mark Stephens, and it's one of those sets that, as soon as the curtain is raised, you drink in every last inch of the set. It's like you have been transported back to the 1950's and the sort of diner you'd have seen in shows like "Happy Days". The colour scheme, the wall adornments, the tables and chairs, comfy seat, coat rack and that wonderful big heater right near the door where the customers enter and leave.

I must also comment on the props, sourced by Tracey Hasler, because I love props in a play. For starters there was real food, displayed in the way that a diner would display food temptingly. Every prop you would need to create this kind od environment was there. It was if the American Diner in Church Gresley had been picked up and transplanted onto the stage of The Venture Theatre.

Perfectly stage managed by Nicky Miller, assisted by Gemma Pritchard and Christine Hammond.

Sound design is by Paul Smith and operated by Dale Richards. Loved the timely sound effects that gave you the impression and spacial awareness of what was outside the diner doors.

Lighting design is also by Paul Smith and operated by Michelle Hodgkinson. Simple and effective is always a big thumbs up from me.

Costumes have been sourced and created by Karen Heath. From the diner costumes to the cowboy outfits and to Cherie's "wow factor" costume reveal when she sang "That Old Black Magic", these costumes certainly made an impression.

I think that I had seen the film version of this play many moons ago, and now and again something in the play reminded me of it, but I have not seen the play version before. I think that you can tell that I loved this production and its' snapshot of life in Kansas City and the folk there. And you know what, all this action takes place within two hours, including the interval.

If you love a good bargain, you'll love this as well.

The 1950's American Diner in Church Gresley are offering a 10% discount at the American Diner to Venture Theatre audience members!

All you need to do to claim your 10% discount is to present your "Bus Stop" ticket within the next 12 months. One ticket per customer, and you need to have your booking reference with you, not forgetting to mention the "Bus Stop" promotion when booking your meal.

"Bus Stop" is at The Venture Theatre in Ashby de la Zouche until Saturday 30 November, with a Saturday matinee, and then from Wednesday 4 December to Saturday 7 December. This is one bus stop you won't mind hanging around at!