As part of the Edinburgh Fringe Previews season at the Hope Theatre, the hectic Welsh comedy Pews at Ten makes its return to London.
It is set in a cathedral, St David’s, and features three parishioners – Dilys, Meryl, and Rona – and their new steward, David, who is both young and an Englishman.
Nia Brooks, who also plays Dilys, has written a slapstick, physically amusing play that will leave you shaking with laughter. As the ladies, gossips and widows all, come to terms with David’s arrival, bigger news is on the horizon.
Which Welsh icon is bigger than Tom Jones to this particular demographic? And he’s coming to visit. I recalled the play Women on the Verge of HRT that focused on two women obsessed with Daniel O’Donnell, but that was darker in tone than the farcical Pews.
There is a sense of fun throughout this play, whether in the ladies’ reactions or their overlapping bickering and vocal mannerisms. There are pratfalls, hysteria, and rambling, absurd anecdotes – and that’s just about Welsh cakes.
Brooks and her chums in the front pew (Matty Rudd as Meryl, Bud Potter as Rona) have an ease and synchronicity in their movement that speaks to a closeness over years, but it is played expertly for laughs.
Dominic Bryant as David is the brunt of some wonderful gags and has a great face for exaggerated reactions. Later, his appearance as ‘Tom’ to rehearse the ladies in how to behave is hilarious, as are their attempts to ‘just be yourself’.
There’s nothing understated about Pews at Ten. It seems chaotic on the outside but is beautifully constructed, from its handwritten notices to the choral renditions of Tom Jones classics. A bell allows a phone to ring; a row of bunting stands for the country’s pride in all it stands for – as long as ‘SS’ isn’t mentioned.
Every joke lands in this affectionate and knowing script, which takes the concept of Church wives and exaggerates every moment without making them feel ridiculous. Rudd’s gangly Meryl and Potter’s myopic Rona are the broadest of comic creations, but you still feel you know them.
For Dilys, Brooks writes and plays a backstory of regret for staying in the background, without complaint, that slots in well as we already know these three ladies are close and considerate behind the chatterbox encounters.
Izzy Klein directs each beat of this frantic confection with great skill as we become both audience and congregation in this place that worships at the altar of both religious and celebrity iconography.
It’s OK to be daft and a fan even late in life, Pews at Ten tells us – and it’s also OK to welcome in the unknown and misunderstood.
This will surely have the legs to become big. These ‘three queer clowns in mature lady drag ‘, to quote the show’s blurb, are there, so “Help Yourself” to a bit of hilarity.
It’s 5 stars from me.
Pews at Ten was at Hope Theatre on 26 Jul.It then heads to the Edinburgh Fringe – Biosphere at Dynamic Earth, 22 Aug & Studio at Paradise in Augustines, 24-29 Aug.