The Inn at the Top is a play at the top. This is a constantly engaging and amusing production which shows Castle Players at the peak of their form.
It could even be said that it is what amateur dramatic companies exist for: a (reasonably) local story depicting local characters, written, or anyway, dramatized by one of their own, and a slew of dependable actors who long ago endeared themselves to audiences. What’s not to like?
Plaudits all round, but first to Laurence Sach, director and writer. He has turned Neil Hanson’s charming book into an endearingly light, episodic piece.
It tells how a couple of young outsiders (oftcomdens) took over the Tan Hill Inn, highest pub in England, only to find themselves having to cope with a singular local clientele. Cosy comedy, if you like.
What it lacks in character development it comfortably makes up for in easy-going charm.
The ensemble cast are almost pitch perfect in coping with an array of roles while delivering a parade of improbable if (largely) true anecdotes.
From the wonderful opening – which Gordon Duffy-McGhie, his face a picture of devilish cunning, and Ian Kirkbride, embracing his Geordie accent as if it were a pair of comfy old slippers, ham it up for all they are worth – it introduces a panoply of dales figures who tell an ultimately heart-warming story.
Not much happens but then not much needs to happen.
The production might have suffered because the two leads, played by Ben Pearson and Alison Ivanec, are obviously a little older than the youthful, naïve Hansons were in real life. But the pair bring such a well-honed energy to their roles that age matters not a jot.
Similarly, in truth, the locals would (mostly) have been blokes but this largely female cast makes the time go by.
They all have their outstanding moments: Sue Byrne, Janie Caldbeck, Adele Tyler, Ellie Pettit, a triumphantly returning Trudi Dixon, embellished mischievously by Messrs Kirkbride and Duffy-McGhie whose first half joke is one of the evening’s many highlights.
It should pack out halls in the coming weeks.
Old Stager
