28th-30th November 2013 Southmoor Village Hall
For their November production, Kingston Bagpuize Drama Group chose The O'Conner Girls by Katie Forgette. This  a tale of woe takes place after the funeral of patriarch Tom O'Conner and his two daughters meet with their mother to sort Tom's belongings and papers.
So the scene is set. The play marks the directing debut of group stalwart Emily Eastham who has graced  many a KBDG production over the years.
To proceed. The curtains open to a set designed by Emily and Mike Lacey. The set was unremarkable then it was supposed to be, the living room of an elderly couple somewhere during Christmas 1997. Considering the saga involved trawling through the mountain of Tom's possessions, I would have liked to have seen a few more boxes on the set.
However, enter Tom's wife played by Sally Lacey and the story begins. I have to say the tale did drag a little in the first act. There was a distinct lack of movement when the protagonists simply sat and conversed, the odd short walk around the stage would have benefitted the actors and the audience for that matter.
Sarah's daughter Martha (Kate Belcher) and Liz (Andrea Spencer) verbally spar for several rounds on their  different life styles, Liz living in California and just divorced from her third husband and Martha unmarried and still living at home.
Kate Belcher and Andrea Spencer are both superb actresses. They didn't falter in their roles of the daughters unravelling not only their parents' chattels but also their marriage.
The play was occasional brought to life with a bang when Aunt Margie, played brilliantly by Paula Eastman, burst upon the stage broadcasting her opinions and announcing the news that the eligible Dr Stevens,(so convincingly played by Rob Bateman I thought I would have a word with him about my back), had returned to town, nudge nudge, wink wink.
In the second act the play did pick up a pace. Andrea coped admirably with a huge part and the revelation that Liz, far from being the success she was perceived, was in fact broke and homeless.
Sarah announces she is going to sell the house and go travelling alone to the chagrin of all concerned. Then the doctor in the house comes to the rescue, falls for Martha and Sarah invites Liz to join her on her European tour. All's well that ends well to coin a phrase.
Great acting in a play that was inspirational in parts if a little static too.
Unfair as it is to pick out one player, Andrea Spencer gets my 'Man of the Match' award for her excellent portrayal of the hapless Liz and for helping  making the prompt entirely redundant.