Love, loss and betrayal

By [npowlson] lynne brighouse lbrighouse@derbytelegraph.co.uk

WHILE scriptwriter David Hare enjoys the success of his Oscar-winning film The Reader, a local amateur dramatics group are hoping that Amy's View, a play he wrote for the theatre, will prove just as popular with their audiences.

"The four-act play was chosen by our director Christopher Scott who decided to stage a serious, thought- provoking piece which doesn't offer simple answers," said Elaine Bentley, of Quarndon Amateur Dramatics Society.

"Like The Reader, this play is a very intense and poignant story. It is based around the relationships within a family as they develop over a period of 16 years and touches on the themes of love, death and the role of the theatre."

Amy's View was originally staged in the West End in 1997 with actresses Judi Dench and Samantha Bond filling the key roles of Amy and her mother Esme Allen.

The tale begins in the late 1970s when Amy and her boyfriend Dominic pay a visit to Esme – a well-known actress who is starting to feel the effects of a dwindling interest in the theatre.

During the encounter there is disagreement between Esme and Dominic who makes it clear that he prefers new media to the theatre and aspires to become a film-maker. A series of events is then set into motion which only find their shape many years later when the play closes in the 1990s.

"This is a story which examines family bonds and the consequences of our actions," said Elaine, the show's producer. "I think the play raises many issues which people in the audience will be able to easily relate to."

The themes of love, loss, infidelity, betrayal and an examination of personal and artistic integrity all come under the spotlight.

AMY'S VIEW

WHEN: Tuesday to Friday, 7.45pm nightly.

WHERE: Quarndon Village Hall, Church Street, Quarndon.

TICKETS: £6.

INFORMATION: Contact Tina on 01332 841235 or e-mail: david.clouston@mail.com.