Martha

Published Friday 15 December 2006 at 12:00 by Thom Dibdin

In Catherine Wheels’ captivating story for audiences over four-years-old, Pauline Knowles plays the reclusive Mrs Donald who lives alone in a wooden house by the sea. Knowles knows exactly how to entrance her audience as she silently and precisely goes about her morning rituals. Eventually her first word, “Toilet!”, has them in fits of laughter - yet Knowles still succeeds in conveying the inherent loneliness of her character.

Paul Cunningham makes a chirpy young Postie. He helps discover the extra hidden delights of Karen Tennent’s inventive set - which will later open out like a Dolls House - while Knowles is away shopping. Cunningham returns as the manipulator of the Goose which eventually captures Mrs Donald’s heart and causes her to introduce herself as Martha to the Postie in the final scene. He provides a precisely physical sense of the bird - although he is a little hasty in his timing in this otherwise beautifully paced production.

While it keeps the fourth wall firmly raised, Martha demands intense concentration from both actors as their audience vocally tries to help Mrs Donald when she is chasing around after the naughty goose. Which just goes to indicate how thoroughly engaged they are by this delightful production.