REVIEW: FONDLY REMEMBERED at Theatre at the Tabard 22 May – 15 June 2024

‘an uplifting, engaging and well-written play’ ★★★ ½

There is, arguably, nothing innovative about Gareth Armstrong’s Fondly Remembered. Rather, this is a charming comedy firmly rooted in the recognisable style of a (slightly aged) British sitcom, about a (slightly aged) group of friends reunited to celebrate the life of a departed colleague. This adept play was rewarded by sold-out runs in its initial 2015 production and has since been performed across the UK. While there is a smattering of jokes that feel somewhat hackneyed, and the style of humour will not be to everyone’s taste, this is an uplifting, engaging and well-written play, celebrating that which endures, develops, and matures over time, offset against a theatre industry that is obsessed with youth.

Structurally, the play is satisfyingly written, with all the usual moments of dramatic irony and foreshadowing that audiences expect and love. The experience of watching this play is like being guided round a place you once knew rather well – nothing is particularly shocking, rather we wait in anticipation of the reveal we know is coming, and long for. This is a play that seeks to reassure the audience that for all the cruelty and monotony of life, there is above all meaning, and that goodness and kindness will come back around to greet us in time. Sometimes, that’s just what we need to hear. Importantly, in this play we come to know a group of friends who came of age as theatre professionals. Despite the bitterness and ego that necessarily accompanies a youth spent in competition with one another, there is a sense of longing for a version of British theatre that no longer exists. These characters were involved in regional, repertory theatre, benefitting (so to speak) from Arts Council money. In 2024, with British theatre decimated by a grievous lack of resources, this nostalgia hits slightly differently.

As can perhaps be expected, given the tone of the play, Armstrong’s characters fall into immediately recognisable types. Rosemary Ashe plays a ditzy, glamorous former leading lady, whereas Barbara Wilshere is a cheerily over-organised Stage Manager, keeping everyone in line. Robin Kermode’s slightly haughty leading man is nonetheless charming, despite his rather bruised ego and decades of resentment. The whole cast is excellent in fully understanding and embracing their character and delivering a solid performance throughout. There is a lovely moment where Armstrong plays with expectations, in giving the bumbling Reverend played by Jeremy Booth, a markedly unanticipated backstory. Likewise, William Relton’s speech towards the end of the play, surrounding the character’s marriage to a much younger man, offers some nuance to an otherwise overplayed joke.

In keeping with the well-executed performances, the set is immediately evocative, well-judged, and thoughtful, though perhaps the glowing Christ figurine tips the scale a little towards saccharine. Bolu Dairo’s costume design is similarly well handled in delicately conveying character and the passage of time. There is a slightly unreal aspect to the play’s final moments, where some creative lighting design (Simon Beyer) takes us into a heightened, almost unreal place. This nod towards the artificiality of the theatre and the slightly fantastical serves to remind us that we aren’t watching reality, exactly. The pleasure of watching this play is in surrendering to the silliness; audiences longing for an escape will be grateful for it.

Photography credit: Charles Flint

Fondly Remembered, Gareth Armstrong, The Tabard Theatre, 22^nd May – 15^th June, Take Note Theatre Ltd for the Tabard, Fondly Remembered – Theatre at the Tabard

The Cast     

Zoe Seymour   Rosemary Ashe 

Rev. Thomas Haldane | Jeremy Booth 

Donald Sowerby   Robin Kermode 

Barry Dumont   William Relton 

Cressida Brent   Barbara Wilshere 

The Creatives

Writer/Director | Gareth Armstrong

Associate Director | John Griffiths

Costume Designer | Bolu Dairo

Lighting Designer | Simon Beyer

Music by | Simon Slater

Produced by | Simon and Sarah Reilly for Take Note Theatre at the Tabard

Reviewer Natalie MacKinnon

Natalie is a writer and playwright from Edinburgh. She is a graduate of the Lir Academy for Dramatic Arts in Dublin and the Traverse Young Writers group in Edinburgh. Her writing has been performed on stage in the UK and Ireland and has been adapted for radio by the BBC.