THE cast of Devizes’ Wharf Theatre production of Wynyard Browne’s The Holly & The Ivy should be congratulated.

Set on Christmas Eve sometime in the 1950s, this intense play is about a family separated by belief, discontented by dissatisfaction, and broken by death. Widowed vicar Rev Martin Gregory invites his family down for Christmas, but discovers he has become distanced from those he thought closest to him. The Holly & The Ivy is a medley of bitterness, frustration, love, death and remorse.

The play has familiar characteristics of drama from the 1950s, the dramatic cliff-hangers and the damsel in distress who repeatedly exclaims “Oh Darling!” It clearly expresses the awkwardness of a broken family trying to be polite at Christmas.

This difficult story was performed remarkably well. In particular, there were two stand-out performances by Martin Turner who played the parson, and Tori Burt who played Margaret. Both performed with integrity, ease and perception.

Although this was a great effort by all, Act 1 in particular could have benefitted from some editing. The pace was slow and the speeches long, it could have been modified to make the storyline tighter, and the pace more brisk. Act 2 showed much more potential and promise, it was engaging with a high tempo that reflected the cast's excellent on-stage believability. The accuracy of the set typified the bleakness of a 1950s living room.

Despite the Christmas decorations, it convincingly showed a home that was once bustling with love and life, but is now cold and unhomely, despite Jenny’s efforts to ‘keep the home fires burning.’

This play has great potential for a modern revival and this production was a meritable and laudable portrayal of a very difficult play.

GABRIELLA VENUS