‘
Butley’
by Simon Gray
Mr Smale’s latest dramatic production, “Butley”, the story of the day a man’s life fell apart, was a triumph in all aspects. Ben Butley is an overworked, alcoholic university lecturer who finds out his wife is leaving him and his close ‘intense’ friend Joey (Sean Ferguson) is moving out of their flat and moving in with his partner Reg (Adam Wells), all in one day.
Stephen Hughes played Butley remarkably, balancing the comedy with serious drama perfectly and switching between various accents seamlessly. He was on stage for the entire duration of the play and in two hours, he didn’t once lose character or even hesitate on a line. It was a riveting performance.
Two of the girls from Birkenhead High School joined our students on the stage. Louise Anderton played Anne Butley, Ben’s discontented wife and Katy Fiander took the role of Edna Shaft, a fellow lecturer at the university. Our own Jane Booker and Joshua Allen played two of Butley’s students at the university and looked and acted just as we imagine 1970’s student ‘types’ would look and behave.
A small cast of excellent actors and a basic set with great attention to detail helped to make this play a huge success and if you missed it, you really missed out!
