THE Christmas lights are on, and in town and village halls across the country it’s pantomime time…except in Marlborough where, having shot their bolt early with the Hamlet-meets-Aladdin comedy Waiting for Panto at Easter, the Marlborough Players are back with hard-hitter The Philanthropist.

Christopher Hampton’s 19702 bourgeois comedy revolves around a set of insular Oxford academics, in particular the philanthropist of the title, Philip (Alex Rogers). Nothing much seems to invade their world – John (Jani Loikkanen), a post-grad very convincingly blows his own head off in Philip’s apartment in the first scene whilst demonstrating a grabbing ending to his play; most of the government is wiped out by a fanatical army major – but they are more concerned by dinner party small talk and who can bed who.

Philip – a philologist by trade and the philanthropist of the title, because wordplay is a running joke throughout the play – is a harmless creature, a pleaser who annoys simply because he is too ‘nice’. He is ultimately worried about being lonely, especially when his fiancée Celia (Amanda Hancock) dumps him, he can’t ‘perform’ with the university vamp Araminta (Martha Fogg) and even shy Liz (Gail Sinden) gets it on with his friend, Don (John Blunden).

The Philanthropist, like many of Christopher Hampton’s plays, including the better known Les Liaisons Dangereuses, is hard to get right, especially by companies of non-professionals, because it’s subtly witty and lots goes on without very much happening, demanding the audience’s full concentration, which is probably why you don’t see it crop up in town halls too often.

So it’s to the credit of the Marlborough Players, especially wet fish Philip, hussy Araminta, Philip’s weary fiancée Celia and the thoroughly dislikeable novelist Braham (John Yates) that the audience is hooked until the final scene, when despondent Philip takes a gun from the desk drawer and places it between his teeth, just as a frustrated John did back in scene one.

Experienced director Sue Baxter drew the best performances from her actors – good comic timing and subtle performances when needed. The actors wore outfits authentic to 1972 and the recreation of an Oxford don’s comfortable pad was sympathetically blended with the newly restored splendour of the town hall.
The play was a credit to the long hours of rehearsal and commitment and professionalism shown by The Marlborough Players.

The Marlborough Players welcomes new members, visit www.marlboroughplayers.co.uk or ring 01672 512302. Visit www.flickr.com/groups/philanthropist for the play photos.