From Claire Gillies review in  ‘Harpenden People’ …

“a wonderful performance of a fabulous play!!!”

This was the first time I have had the pleasure of watching the Wheathampstead society, but their reputation is obviously well regarded locally as there were hardly any spare seats at the Memorial Hall on Marford Road.

……all in all a brilliant production which was expertly brought to the local stage by the Wheathampstead Dramatic Society. I will definitely be putting the date of their next production in my diary; Losing Louis (by Simon Mendes da Costa) will be on the 17th, 18th and 19th May.

Click here for the full review.

From Roy Hall’s review

…interesting.. and containing some very good performances. Director Julie Field creates the right ambience in a play rich in exposition …  worth seeing… spot-on performances…

Keith emailed to say .. “Great play. It was the best I had ever seen.”   Many thanks Keith !

Lesley & Keith emailed…. “i recently saw the play time of my life. it was fantastic, so professional ! we loved karen who played a long suffering wife who in the end was better off without her husband. a big WOW to her. i would love her to be in another play, please let me know and i will be definatly be coming to see it !”

Barbara commented… “Thoroughly enjoyed the play last week – first time my husband and I have been to the WDS but it will not be the last. My husband and I together with 3 other friends went to support our friend and badminton colleague, Simon. “

From Wendy  .. “Our group of 21 very much enjoyed Time Of My Life. The production was professional, crisp and entertaining. Well done everybody connected with this presentation.”

Review from Nova Horley of NODA….  “I thoroughly enjoyed the play, and thought it was well-acted in the main and nicely directed. The set was good- I liked the se of the central raised table for the major part of the play, and the two small table set at the sides for the smaller scenes – it worked really well, and meant that we didn’t have any lengthy scene changes or blackouts.

The action flowed well, and the set changes were accomplished inconspicuously by two very quiet ladies! Julie Field has an innate understanding of people within the plays she directs – and manages to get this over to her actors, which gives depth to the parts they play. The first scene was excellent – a good start to the play, although at times the background noise was a little too loud, so that I wasn’t too clear whether I was supposed to be listening to general noise, or whether someone was actually delivering a line. I liked the grouping. Jan Westgarth’s portrayal of as Laura l was very convincing. Jan certainly looked the part, I thought her costume worked really well, and was a good colourway for both the setting and her.

I particularly liked Sara Payne as Maureen – her character was naive but complex, and typical of a young woman introduced to pillars of the community, and showing her boredom. Her facial expressions whilst sat at the table before she had to rush off were very well done. Her clothes and hair were really good – such a contrast to the other two ladies, which added good dimension to the look of the play. Karen Prior as the daughter-in-law Stephanie, gave us a good feeling of the wronged wife, and then blossoming when she wanted the divorce, giving character contrasts, which I liked. The mauve patterned dress was a good colour, and the rest of Steph’s wardrobe was suitable. Len Skilton created a very credible Gerry – who couldn’t see anything wrong with the way he treated his wife – and why he shouldn’t get angry with her and hit out at times. You could see that he couldn’t really understand the female standpoint, and knew he was always right!! Simon Chivers was a nicely dull Glyn – he showed us that although he was quiet and mostly did what he was told in an effort to gain approval from his mother in particular, he rebelled by having affairs.

Adam the favourite son, a bit of a sponger because he couldn’t settle to any job or girl, was played very well by Steve Leadbetter, we got the almost playboy attitude – to work, the world and females, but in the end going home to “Mummy” because he couldn’t hold down a job or relationship. The end of the play where he was discovered working in the restaurant was a waiter was very funny. The characters who kept the play together were the waiters and restaurant owner, all played by Jonathan Field. He played five different characters all with their own look, accent and foibles!! Jonathan suited the parts down to the ground, and brought his comic experience and timing to bear at all times. There were some very funny moments – some poignant moments, and also plenty of hidden meanings within the plot. Quite complex at times, and in a couple of places I had to re-run what had gone before in my head to get the right meaning, but all in all a good evening’s entertainment. “