Review: Good Grief - at the Festival Theatre, Malvern, from Monday, November 12 to Saturday, November 19, 2012.

PENELOPE Keith has long been one of the nation’s treasured possessions and in this virtual one-woman performance she again shows just why that is so.

It is now around 30 years – somewhat hard to believe - since she starred as Audrey fforbes-Hamilton in television’s To the Manor Born, and slightly longer still since those days of The Good Life, but she hardly appears to have altered and the talent shows little sign of diminishing.

She’s right at the top of her game in her portrayal here of the recently widowed June Pepper, storming through scene after scene as we witness June exploring and coming to terms with being alone after 25 years of marriage to Sam, her Fleet Street editor husband.

Keith Waterhouse’s play is sheer quality and a delight, with a special blend of humour and a degree of sadness as our widow upholds a promise to keep a daily diary when he’s gone.

Only it’s not the written word, but a one-way dialogue with the departed Sam...

These conversations, quite diverse and highly amusing at times, are shared with the audience, even when the rest of an impressive cast is on stage, and it works extremely well as she begins to cope with life after loss. She explores her new situation with ‘The Suit’ – that’s Dougie, played with slightly roguish charm by Christopher Ravenscroft, as their ‘friendship’ appears to develop.

There’s also the relationship with strongly opinionated step-daughter Pauline (Flora Montgomery) and Jonathan Firth’s suspiciously stealthy Eric. Two further strong and highly convincing portrayals.

Adding to the overall appeal of this hugely enjoyable production is a first rate set in which the clever parting of stairs and a wall switches us neatly from June’s spacious home to the bar of the nearby Duke of Clarence pub.

Director Tim Littler too must take credit in ensuring Waterhouse’s words have a particular resonance by garnering the talents of a top notch cast to ensure what appeared to be a faultless evening progressed with serenity and skill.

He must also be grateful to have an actress of such considerable quality and stage presence as Penelope Keith on hand to pull those vital strings and lead by example.