DIRECTED FOR RDG BY JUDITH DOLLEY

RIVERHOUSE BARN, WALTON ON THAMES – 19TH – 22ND JULY 2017

Written in1933 this play paints a bleak picture of post war disillusionment as symbolised by the family of a country solicitor, living in a small village in Kent.

This is a powerful play, which at one level deals with the destructiveness of the First World War, and at another blindness in all its aspects.

Somerset Maugham’s fine, well-made play starts out as a gentle comedy and turns out to be anything but. Set in the ‘thirties in the inter-war slump, it deals with the problems of decorated war heroes who came back to find that England is not the promised “Land Fit For Heroes” and the dilemmas of the women who have been left behind.

The last house party of the season - tennis on the lawn, tea in the house - introduces us to the Ardsley family and their friends. A pretty picture of the middle classes at play, or so it seems. Each character has been damaged by the war and its aftermath, there is infidelity, suicide, and disillusionment in the promised land. Into the family’s financially and emotionally pinched world stride the successful Cedars and shattered hopes are reawakened and resentments start to bubble.

Full details are on the RDG website http://www.rdg.org/productions/for-services-rendered

The play will be presented at Riverhouse Barn Arts Centre and tickets are £14. Available from https://thelittleboxoffice.com/riverhouse/event/view/61007