'THE ROAD TO NAB END'

Photo: L-R Lisa Howard, Adam Barlow, Kenneth Alan Taylor and Jo Mousley


THE ROAD TO NAB END

Oldham Coliseum Theatre until 10th July 2010

Review by Brian Gorman

William Woodruff’s bestselling memoir of a poverty-stricken childhood in post WW1 Blackburn finds an ideal home on the stage of Oldham Coliseum, and is a perfect piece to herald the much anticipated return of actor Kenneth Alan Taylor; this is his first theatrical role since recovering from a heart attack a year ago. The real life drama added much poignancy to the depiction of an elderly Woodruff narrating the story of his childhood years, and Mr Taylor gave a masterly performance full of restless, even youthful, energy demonstrating a genuine love of the subject matter. Young ‘Billy’ Woodruff was born during World War One when his mother gave birth on a woolsack whilst working in one of the many cotton mills in Blackburn. The story follows the first twenty or so years of our young hero’s life as the family struggle to make ends meet, and the cast play a bewildering variety of characters. Kenneth Alan Taylor holds everything together as the mature Woodruff visiting his old hometown in, what appeared to be, the late 1970s, and finding that most of the places he remembers have now been demolished, but the memories of the people and events remain strong. This is a very colourful production, rich in character, charm, and showcasing a very talented cast in a variety of challenging roles. Adam Barlow is superb as Billy, aging from a small child to a young man very effectively indeed. Robin Simpson was delightful as Billy’s best pal, Harold, using skillful body language to conjure up a believable young rogue, constantly adjusting his ‘bits and pieces’. Simpson also gave us a wonderfully comic Salvation Army bigamist, and almost stole the show as an upper-class character who reminded me of the late, great Leonard Rossiter. John Elkington played Billy’s father as a solid northern patriarch, determined to provide for his family, and loathe to accept any form of charity when losing his job at the mill. A contrasting role for Elkington was as Mr Grimshaw, Billy’s pedantic and charm free employer; a fabulously comical character one could imagine popping up in tv’s ‘Little Britain’. Lisa Howard as Billy’s mother also played Grandmother Bridget, and had many heartbreaking scenes to play, carrying them off beautifully. Unfortunately, with so many characters on display, it’s hard for me to recognize who was playing who at times (and yes, I did read the programme; but no, it doesn’t list every character). Whoever played The Salvation Army lady was outstanding at berating the audience on the evils of liquor, and I apologise for not being able to name her here (write to me, ma’am!). Christopher Chilton was yet another actor able to showcase his dramatic and comic talents in a variety of roles including the amiable Gordon Weall, a staggering drunk singing ‘Nelly Dean’, and a firebrand communist who comes to a sticky end beneath the hooves of a Police horse. Director Kevin Shaw has a strong hand on the rudder, and, as he showed us in last month’s fantastic production of ‘The Memory Of Water’, can handle tears and laughter with the surest of touches. There is always the danger of a story like this lapsing into parody, but at no time did Kevin Shaw and his company seek to patronize their audience. There is a real atmosphere at Oldham Coliseum, and it was clear from Kenneth Alan Taylor’s curtain call speech that respect is paramount here. Kudos too to Philip Goulding for adapting Woodruff’s book for the stage in this, its premiere production. Goulding successfully weaves a fascinating tale of a young boy’s life, his aims and ambitions, and the tough times of local mill workers’ lives, and presents us with a vibrant, life-enhancing story filled with every human emotion. There are also musical moments with John Elkington on ukulele, and the cast singing old favourites such as ‘Danny Boy’; what more could you ask for?!