Sale & Altrincham Messenger's comments:-

Refreshingly grown up - Abandonment at the Garrick

By Rick Bowen

****

EVER since I was a child, old houses have always held a certain mystique. Which partly explains why I was so engrossed in Abandonment, Altrincham Garrick's latest production.

The writing is pretty special too, with Kate Atkinson treating us to some memorable lines. She's equally adept at conveying both frivolity and far darker emotions in a piece that is refreshingly grown up. Abandonment has a feel of Stoppard's Arcadia and while some of the characters spend time pondering life's great questions, it is easier to understand, thank goodness, than the aforementioned play.

Elizabeth (Beverley Stuart-Cole) sets up home in a rambling Victorian house and the lives of her and her dysfunctional family become intertwined with the lives of the previous, Victorian occupants. The house has a guilty secret and all is eventually revealed in a patient, compassionate play.

Pieces as meaty as this need a strong cast and director Alan Rothwell has just that. April Couronne ensures you care deeply about the tragic Agnes, even though you don't see that much of her on stage and Mike Shaw makes certain you hate every bone in the philandering Merric's body. Similarly, Sarat Broughton is a study in nastiness as Laetitia.

A haunting and affecting play, this is not to be missed. Nice set, too.