Greece is the word in student production

A Play at The Everyman, Cheltenham, tonight and tomorrow shows how much worse life for women could be. A Phoenix Too Frequent, performed by the University of Gloucestershire Actors’ Company at The Other Space studio, is set in ancient Greece. When a man dies, it is the custom for his wife to be buried alive with him. The drama, by Christopher Fry, follows a young widow who has to decide whether she should follow convention or rebel. Director Bill Cronshaw says the play has important messages for today’s women.

Gloucestershire Echo, Thursday 20th March 2003

When you are ushered into a tiny room within The Everyman to watch a play without any props and a very small cast, you don’t expect much.
But director Bill Cronshaw’s The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband, was a hilarious, fast paced and exhilarating production.
The three University of Gloucestershire students who made up the cast captivated the audience for almost two hours.
The play, written by Debbie Isitt, is about a middle-aged man called Kenneth who is torn between two women.
On one hand there is his former wife, Hilary, who is frigid and frumpy. In her favour, she is an excellent cook.

On the other side is Laura, his new wife, who is young and sexy and exciting – but a culinary disaster.
Robbie Gardner is excellent as Kenneth. He makes the audience squirm and cringe at his sexist outbursts and cowardly behaviour.
Kate Colton and Sarah Iles capture the strength and weaknesses of Hilary and Laura perfectly.
Hilary, who is very neurotic, shines through as clever and shrewd woman.
Laura, who is very aggressive and sulky at the beginning shows herself to be as vulnerable as any woman when the conclusion comes.
The audience clearly loved the performance.
There was no squirming and scraping of chairs to suggest restless behaviour.
The applause the cast received at the end was deafening.
This is an excellent play that should not be missed.

Melanie Tarrant

Gloucestershire Echo, Thursday 19th September 2002