'Not My Cuppa' But Audience Wooed by Tabard Double Bill

Susan Stanley-Carroll sees a positive response to Red Peppers/Aged in Wood


Jessica Martin provides the linchpin for the production

June 1, 2025

Theatre at the Tabard is hosting two one act plays until Saturday, 21 June: ‘Red Peppers’ by Noel Coward written in 1936 and ‘Aged in Wood’ by Cian Criffin written nearly a century later.

Almost a century ago, Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence acted together in “Red Peppers” and delighted their audiences. It’s a pastiche of a second rate music hall double act. Lily and George, husband and wife, open the production with an unappetising cascade of Christmas Cracker jokes; they may have stirred laughter in 1936 but left me cold!

The couple argued vociferously in their dressing room not only with each other but with the cast and the management of their play. However, the preview audience seemed to go with the flow. The tone was set for the evening.

‘Aged in Wood’, a longer play, is set in the same dressing room previously used by Lily and George (see if you can spot a small poster of the couple that still remains on the room’s wall?). “Aged in Wood” explores the resilient ego of actors. Deena, an ageing actor, is confronted by a gamut of disturbing encounters from her family, fellow actors, the producer and the audience. She sheds a few tears but is undeterred.

Jessica Martin (as Deena Ames) is an actor of calibre, she plays the lead in both plays; a tour de force and the linchpin of the whole production.

The second play starts just before the curtain rises and Deena, the star of the show is ready to step onto the stage, however, her family, friends and colleagues have presented her with a range of volatile issues. She defiantly refuses to be affected by the fact that her world has collapsed: her adult children rebelling against her controlling nature, her ex-husband presenting her with divorce documents, and the fact that the production is a flop!

I found it difficult to suspend my disbelief and to feel any compassion with the characters in either of the plays. In ‘Aged in Wood’ too many random deeply personal issues cluttered a disjointed script.


Red Peppers/ Aged in Wood at Theatre at the Tabard

Unfortunately, on the preview night, an actor had to be replaced. Jason Moore and Ian Nicholas stood in to read the script and this inconvenience probably caused the production to falter.

Jason Moore competently directs both play and Ian Nicholas, who established the company One Book Theatre, was the designer.

Lily and George, husband and wife, open the production
Lily and George, husband and wife, open the production

‘One person’s meat is another person’s poison’ - well, there was no poison involved - but I was aware I was out of sync with the very supportive, enthusiastic audience. I noted keenly that they relished both plays. Unfortunately neither play was ‘my cuppa’: Red Peppers was far too dated with no lingering moment of nostalgia for the era of Noel Coward. ‘Aged in Wood’ a mishmash of issues strung together and not developed. However, the resilience of the cohesive team of actors was admirable.

Now, it is up to audiences to determine if it is ‘their cuppa or not’!

Susan Stanley-Carroll

Book tickets here.

Coming Up at The Tabard

Theatre at the Tabard is at 2 Bath Road, Chiswick (W4 1LW).

 

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