2024 - The Invitation
We would like to thank everyone who came along to see our last production, The Invitation by Juliet Devon. We have received some wonderful feedback and appreciate your support.
“The Russell Players’ latest production The Invitation by Juliet Devon and directed by Deni Smale provided audiences with a witty and clever comedy wrapped up in a wedding-themed venue. The play was well-written, well-cast, and delivered to the highest of standards. The “light supper” exceeded expectations and all in all, made for an excellent evening.”
The Invitation review -
You can choose your fiancé, but you can’t choose your family
A destination wedding would be paradise for many fiancés – but not this couple. In fact, in the Russell Player’s latest production, wedding planning has been pretty hellish for Eve (Lisa Johnson) and Adam (Henry Finney).
Well, it would be with mother-of-the-bride-zilla Lydia (Lynn Wright). Though, if you ask her, she’s saved this wedding from being a complete disaster.
Eve’s dream dress – well, she’s not got the figure according to Lydia. Red ribbons for the table and chairs – what was Eve thinking?! And her music choices – well those were just all wrong. Frankly, Eve should count herself lucky she’s got such an attentive and involved mother planning it all.
So, when the invitation to their Florida wedding drops through everyone’s letterboxes, it’s clear who’s been calling the shots. Lydia’s sister Steph (Caroline Waterer), who’s as calm as Lydia is controlling, can see right through it, though husband Rob (Andy Witting) wouldn’t say no to a holiday. Especially if it means he can hit the greens while they’re out there!
Steph’s not the only sceptic; Adam’s Uncle Tom (Albi Wright) knows this isn’t the couple’s dream do – what happened to a small ceremony and honeymooning in the Cotswolds? No matter how much his wife Sue (Sheila Partington) wants to fly out for the ceremony, cynical Tom just can’t get onboard with this costly and extravagant affair.
As the wedding date draws nearer, there’s a spanner in the works – a spanner called Wayne. We learn that Cousin Wayne, who was blacklisted for his “unforgiveable” and “unforgettable” behaviour at the last family affair, has booked his flights and literally invited himself along to Adam and Eve’s special day! It’s the last straw for long-suffering Eve, as Adam’s offer to elope becomes even more enticing.
We return after the interval, to find the happy couple are gone. In their place, Lydia finds a note; Adam and Eve have decided to take a break. “How could Eve be so selfish?”, proclaims Lydia, who thinks all her hard work has been for nothing.
But when Eve phones her mum to share some happy news, Lydia won’t let her get a word in edgeways. Surely poor Adam is devasted they’ve broken up just weeks before the big day?! And what about all the random relatives Lydia’s invited, in place of the happy couple’s best friends – they’ll all be disappointed their holiday is ruined!
Once Hurricane Lydia has finally calmed down, Eve can explain how it’s all one big miscommunication. She and Adam have eloped, saying their vows in the small ceremony and are now enjoying a break together in the Cotswolds – not a break from each other.
And when Steph, who’s been drafted in for emotional support, gently suggests a solution that won’t let Lydia’s planning go to waste, everything finally clicks into place. You see, all this time Lydia’s been designing the perfect wedding for herself, not her daughter. So why don’t Lydia and her husband, Richard, renew their vows? They just need to update the names on the invitations, and then everyone gets their happily ever after.
Writer Juliet Devon has devised a clever comedy, full of great banter and irony, and director Deni Smale has truly brought this boisterous, complicated family to life. The evening was made even more superb with the immersive ‘wedding breakfast’ theme of the dinner. Another fantastic production from The Russell Players.
