Neighbourhood Watch

Synopsis

I have a friend in the force and he tells me that, day to day, the police are hanging on by a whisker... by that much...It’s not just here, mark you. It’s nationwide. One breath of wind - anarchy! Things are not right on The Bluebell Hill Development. Theft, petty crime, vandalism, all the ills of modern suburban existence are on the increase. Newcomers Martin and his sister Hilda are the crime wave’s latest victims - on the very day of their housewarming party, no less - and resolve to take action. After all, the law of the land, all that’s right and proper and even God Himself are surely on their side. But what starts out as a well intentioned neighbourhood watch scheme soon develops into something altogether more sinister. In these matters, it seems the frying pan is closer to the fire than anyone realises. Alan Ayckbourn’s cautionary tale of the dangers of taking the law into your own hands is his seventy fifth play. It is also the three hundredth new play to be commissioned by the SJT.

Our Review:

Jo Caird - 12 April 2012

Middle-aged brother and sister Hilda and Martin move onto the Bluebell Hill Development bubbling with excitement: the house is perfect, the view is charming and the neighbours are sure to be a decent bunch. Eager to make a good impression, they host a house-warming. Out of over 100 invitations, only a handful of people turn up, but this does nothing to dampen the siblings' expectations of their new life in Bluebell Hill. What does rattle them, however, is their new neighbours' insistence on the need for increased security. Hilda and Martin try to laugh these warnings off, but when Martin is attacked in broad daylight by a trespassing youth, their neighbours' fears appear to be confirmed. Something will have to be done.

Bluebell Hill's collection of misfits are little more than stereotypes – the meek bachelor, the busy-body neighbour, the security-obsessed former soldier – but they're amusingly drawn. As the group puts its plans for a neighbourhood...

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Latest User Review

John Charles - 26 August 2012:

Very, very disappointing. This was comedy/farce by numbers, with stock characters and stock dialogue. There could have been a slow and subtle move from typical Neighbourhood Watch concerns to the extreme. but it all happened in a few minutes. Ayckbourn's first big hit Relatively Speaking is currently touring, a masterpiece in my opinion. I doubt if his latest will ever be seen again....

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