DB wrote “Dear Audience, Is it really possible to bring a loved-one back from the dead? Christine certainly believes so and has already engaged various mediums in unsuccessful attempts to restore her recently dead, much loved husband, to life. But undeterred by failure, she has now invited Saviello, an Italian medium with a reassuring record of success. Yet is he what he appears to be? And what about his down-to-earth ‘manager’ Mrs. Amos?
As Shakespeare’s Hamlet said to his friend Horatio: “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy’. In Trespass, Emlyn Williams explores some unusual aspects of the supernatural, and what you experience here this evening may well have you looking carefully around your bedroom tonight before you reach out for the light switch …..”
David Peaty returns after a long absence and joined the cast late in rehearsals for the important part of Bill.
Margaret Faggetter first appeared with Wick in Noah, our last play.
A sufferer from Muscular Dystrophy, Douglas has had the support of John King during the weeks of rehearsals.”
Publicity #1: Trespass
Publication: Shoreham Herald
Publication Data: September 30 1983 issue – page 13
Reporter: Karen Jones
Text Header: “Wick spins a ghostly tale ”
Text: Content
THERE are things that go bump in the night in the Wick Theatre Company’s production of Trespass next month.
It is described as a ghost story in six scenes by author Emlyn Williams and has the eerie setting of a lonely castle in a remote part of Wales.
The story revolves around the Countess’s belief that she can bring back to life her dead husband, through spirits and mediums.
The cast of nine is headed by experienced Wick actress Pat Moss as the Countess Christine. Her daughter Gwan is played by Margaret Faggetter. Joining the Wick line up for the first time is Eddie Roberts, who takes the part of Saveillo. It will be the first time ever on stage for Eddie, who contacted the company and said he would like to try acting.
There is another first in the back-stage management. Former professional director and stage critic has taken the rôle of director. A member of Wick for some time, Mr Blake was forced to give up his professional career after contracting multiple sclerosis. Anxious to get back into theatre he agreed to direct Trespass.
Performances start on Tuesday, October 11, and continue for five nights.
Review #1: Trespass
Publication: Shoreham Herald
Publication Data: October 21 1983 issue – page 17
Reviewer: – Frank Horsley
Text Header: “Trespass just right”
Text: Content
Wick Theatre Company successfully trod the tight-rope between the believable and the unbelievable last week. In less capable hands, Emlyn Williams’ unusual ghost story Trespass could have degenerated into a melodramatic mish-mash, fit only for a Golden Turkey award. But the fact that one left the Barn Theatre with frayed nerve ends jangling meant Wick had judged their performance to a nicety.
No one was in more danger of going over the top than Eddie Roberts as the ‘Italian’ medium, Saviello, who – in eerie surrounds of a Welsh castle – tries to bring back a woman’s much-loved husband from the dead. Eddie, however, a Wick newcomer, gave just the right amount of emphasis to the part, holding the audience rapt and never bordering on the realms of absurdity with his inner torturings.
The rest of the cast responded just as admirably, Pat Moss giving a cultured portrayal of the bereaved Christine, who refuses to believe her late musician husband cannot be restored to life. And Daphne Thornton produced a superb piece of character acting as Saviello’s garrulous manager.
Less conspicuous but equally effective in their rôles were David Peaty [Bill] and Margaret Faggetter [Gwan] as the lovers who find themselves trapped by the ghostly shenanigans.
Review #2: Trespass
Publication: Brighton & Hove Gazette
Publication Data: Unknown
Reviewer: Walter Hix
Text: Content
Something very different is to be seen at the Barn Theatre, Southwick, where the Wick Theatre Company has final performances on Friday and Saturday of this week of Emlyn Williams’ play Trespass. This is an excursion into the occult with an unexplained result. It is a well-written play and uniformly well performed.
A quite remarkable achievement is the playing of the medium Saviello by a complete newcomer, Eddie Roberts, who gave a performance at once restrained and forceful.
Another bravura performance comes from Pat Moss as a lady determined, despite a spate of failures, to recall her dead second husband, Philip Henting, composer and band leader. She has charm, authority and downright perversity yet all are right constituents of character, Frank Semus lends a good stage presence and voice to the rôle of Dewar, a known authority on and investigator of the occult. Christine’s daughter Gwan, and a newly engaged librarian Bill, played by Margaret Faggetter and David Peaty, rather awkwardly introduced to the audience by the author, adequately fill in the background to the story. There is a delightful performance by Daphne Thornton as Mrs. Amos, the slangy and down-to-earth manager of the medium Saviello.
The play is a serious one and has its moments of tension but it is not a scaring play. It is interesting, marginally thought provoking and good entertainment.
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