REVIEW: HOW TO KILL FOXES at Drayton Arms Theatre 16 – 27 May 2023

‘Long live Diana!’ ★★★ ½

Fox hunting has become the irresistible flashpoint for tensions between urban and rural communities across Britain, with one side decrying the practice as barbaric while the other pushes back against what it sees as over-sensitive over-reach trying to squash out centuries-old tradition. Seemingly undaunted by the raging debates over this topic, the team behind HOW TO KILL FOXES have grabbed the bull by its horns to deliver a fun ride full of jolly diversions, that unfortunately comes to an uncertain end.

The plot of the play revolves around Diana (Kate Crisp), a country woman resting on old money for her livelihood and the joy of the hunt for her purpose. In these endeavors she is assisted by George (Max Guest) who, as well as serving many roles around her property from stable hand to domestic servant, seems to be the closest thing Diana has to a friend, considering her abrasive nature has alienated all in the village and beyond - not least of all her distant sister Camilla (Imogen King) who long ago rejected the country life Diana embraces in favour of London.

Set in a superbly designed set by Oliver Bush that excellently captures the feel of an old country house (with an armchair so well cast it enthusiastically puffs dust whenever anyone so much as sneezes at it), the play surprisingly doesn’t linger on fox-hunting long, as the play’s focus soon shifts to Diana’s struggle to keep her horse and hound breeding operations running before shifting again to almost become a reconciliation story between Diana and her sister. Almost, but not quite, as the ending makes very clear.

This is a journey featuring some interesting obstacles, but which never quite ties together the three conflicts of each of its sections. For instance, the characters all resolve to go up to London to confront the snooty city journalists bad-mouthing fox hunting in the first, which is then largely forgotten when it comes to the financial worries of the second, which in turn is resolved by the single sale of a horse that leads to the rapidly solved conflict of the third. Too neat and too separate, failing to coalesce into being about anything more than just Diana bumbling through life.

But this failure to form a strong theme while still managing to be quite a lot of fun hints at the play’s greatest strength: the character of Diana herself. A thoroughly unlikable, superior and grandiose personality, Diana dominates and denigrates all those around her in a way you can’t help but relish spectating – the kind of character that the English do best, like Basil Fawlty or Edmund Blackadder. Diana stands right there next to them and our quick visit into her world is as entertaining as it is brief.

But much like the plot itself, the performances have a few wrinkles to be ironed out. While Guest is to be commended for taking firm possession as the sympathetic heart of the play, and King does a wonderful job playing up the pantomime insincerity of Camilla, the performances in this production simply do not flow well into each other, each playing slightly out of sync. By the time you’ve gotten used to one character’s timing and a good feel for their emotional state the scene has jumped elsewhere, delivering a consistent, jarring few moments while you mentally shift gears before you warm up to this new speed, begin to enjoy the obvious talents of the performers, only for the process to start all over again. Whether this was deliberate I’m not sure, but it’s something director Wheldon-Posner would do well to re-consider.

Ultimately, HOW TO KILL FOXES defies its pitfalls to deliver a play that features an excellent feeling of place and enjoyable characters, most notably giving birth to a highly compelling main character that I do hope, despite certain plot developments, isn’t quite finished yet. Long live Diana!

HOW TO KILL FOXES showing in Drayton Arms Theatre, 16th May – 27th May 2023

Box office: http://www.draytonarmstheatre.co.uk/how-to-kill-foxes

Written by Rex Fisher

Set Design by Oliver Bush

Directed by Merle Wheldon-Posner

Assistant Directed by Nell Rayner

Produced by Merle Wheldon-Posner

Cast: Kate Crisp as Diana, Imogan King as Camilla and Max Guest as George

Reviewed by Harry Conway