Review: A Perfectly English Evening with Rollins' UPTON ABBEY

The rigidness of the acclaimed PBS show Upton Abbey and the unpredictability and overall silliness of improv theater. These things could never work together... or could they? While these two genres of theater couldn't be more different, they come together to form both a hilarious and heartfelt night of theater. Set in an English estate during the climax of the Great War, UPTON ABBEY: AN IMPROVISED COMEDY OF ENGLISH MANORS looks at the relationships between the characters who reside "upstairs" (the nobility) and "downstairs" (the servants and waitstaff). Each actor in the show plays one of each character (an "upstairs" and a "downstairs" character). Fueled by audience participation, the show is entirely improvised, except for the character biographies. What made the show so fun was knowing that each performance was different. Each show jumps forward one month, and the audience decides which characters to follow and what major plot points to pursue.

Improv theater is tricky to master - it requires the actor to be on their toes and ready for anything and everything. It also takes a kind of openness to not control a scene and have an open mind about the possibilities of what the moment could turn into (the "yes, and?" that many improv actors refer to). Many actors won't even touch improv because of these things, and yet the outstanding thespian students at Rollins College have met the challenge head on and do it well.

As expected in an improvisational work, there were moments of the show that seemed to go in circles and left the audience feeling confused, but the director must have known when those moments would occur as the scene would transition before it got too out of hand. Sometimes the actors would forget which time or place they were in, but with a show that changes every time with over twenty characters, it's easy to see how this could happen and it only elicited a slight chuckle from the audience when it did happen. Overall, the actors were spot on and worked hard to keep the storyline going while incorporating the content from the audience.

Two standouts of the show were David Charles who played both Lord AlBert Cranworth and the butler, Percival Bernsby, and Chloe Brewer who was cast as Lady Marian Cranworth and Lottie Sturgess. I was amazed at the way they both played their scripted parts so well, but were able to think fast and wittingly in the moments where the script couldn't lead them. I looked forward to their hilarious quips and witty banter, and although they played two uniquely different characters (which can be a challenge in and of itself), they never allowed either one to crossover in to each other - they made each character their own and used humor that made sense with the character they were playing at the time.

UPTON ABBEY: AN IMPROVISED COMEDY OF ENGLISH MANORS had the audience laughing and crying in their seats and it is surely one of the best shows I've ever seen from the Annie Russell Theatre. The show runs from November 11 to 19 and tickets can be purchased here.

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So, did you enjoy your visit to the estate? Let me know! Don't forget to follow BWW Orlando on Facebook and Twitter by clicking below. You can also connect with me about this show and all things theatre by following me on Twitter @libbychamps.

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