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All the Ordinary Angels

Published Friday 4 November 2005 at 13:20 by Natalie Anglesey

The exciting Little Manchester Season at the Royal Exchange was launched with two world premieres and the announcement of the Bruntwood Playwriting Competition. Both plays are set in Manchester at the end of the Thatcher era and both deal with change, in a personal as well as global sense.

In fact, Nick Leather’s new play, in the main house, is a direct result of another playwriting competition at the Exchange in 2002, which prompted him to enter, winning the Pearson Award and becoming the theatre’s writer in residence.

All the Ordinary Angels is set mainly in an ice cream factory and Michael Buffong directs with totally original flair and an eye for scenes with maximum visual impact. He has collaborated with designer Es Devlin to create an imaginative cardboard box strewn set which is full of delightful surprises.

Peter Polycarpou is exactly right as the head of the Italian ice cream family who mischievously retires with a challenge to his sons about the inheritance of his business. Craig Cheetham is excellent as Rocco, his opportunist son, who is great at selling but not making gelato while his brother Lino, another good performance from Al Weaver, is the opposite.

The women in this male-dominated society are played by Lucy Gaskell as Lulu, the feisty office girl who attracts both brothers, while Sarah Ball is Bernie, Rocco’s steadfast wife.

This original and lively production is both thought-provoking and hilariously funny and marks an interesting future for Nick Leather.

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