The London critics unanimously labelled Charles Dyer's Rattle of a Simple Man as a "must" for theatregoers. And on its first showing in Worthing - it continues until Monday - I echo that good advice for the benefit of Connaught patrons.
Although there are virtually only two characters in the play, the situation, the dialogue, the atmosphere created by wondering what this clash of personalities is going to bring, holds the interest as well as any whodunnit.
Rattle of a Simple Man is no arty-crafty 'over your head piece'. It is human, warming, and highly amusing and produces some of the best acting I have seen for a long time. Played against a realistic bedsitter/kitchen set, it gives full scope to the cat-and-mouse situation in which Percy, a droll North Country character, meets up with a worldly kitten of a girl named Cyrenne, who is attractive enough to make the headlines in any government report. The wit is delicious as Cyrenne sets about displaying her undoubted charms to this chump of a fellow who is more interested in darts.
Josephine Tewson and Alan Howard do not spare themselves in the demanding business of putting this gem of a play over with a bang.
Denis Raleigh
Worthing Gazette, 2.10.63.