Earth Angel – Review – Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough

By Elizabeth Stanforth-Sharpe, September 2025

Before our eyes, the world has evolved into a place imbued with uncertainty where we are encouraged to err on the side of caution and not trust anyone. Children once advised to seek out a ‘grown-up’ when they needed help became adolescents taught ‘stranger danger’, and rapidly developed into adults surrounded by conspiracy theories and almost daily news bulletins of seemingly lovely neighbours who turned out to be psychopathic murderers or violent conmen. There is the added pressure of an ever-present internet that allows anyone, hidden by the cowardice of a screen, to weigh in on defaming individuals they have no personal knowledge of.

The questions then become, have we lost the ability to discern a moral, honest person when they are standing in front of us, and must we always suspect ulterior motives in a kind deed? Alan Ayckbourn’s 91st play Earth Angel challenges its audience to remember that good people do still exist if we are open to accepting them, and what better mechanism to draw out the complex layers of such a discussion than that of a funeral and the grief that follows.

Gerald Mallet, played by Russell Richardson (whom SJT audiences will remember as Danny in Brassed Off) has returned home after the funeral of his much-loved wife Amy. The cake has been eaten, tea has been drunk, polite exchanges have taken place, the mourners have departed, and Gerald sits in the living room alone with his thoughts, as two stragglers work in the kitchen, washing and packing away the last of the best crockery. The private stillness after the public show is beautifully conveyed.

Stuart Fox, Liza Goddard, Elizabeth Boag

“Notion of trust”

Norah, played wonderfully by SJT’s own superb Elizabeth Boag, is Gerald’s neighbour – kind, fussing, and well-meaning, but perhaps through her own loneliness and insecurities, is given to gossip and nosiness. She has been a support to him and his wife throughout Amy’s illness and death and, as she tidies away the remnants of the day, she reflects on the service and those present there. She muses aloud. Surely Gerald’s sister could have stayed a little longer to be with her own brother at such a time, but wasn’t it touching that the vicar referred to Amy as an ‘Earth Angel’? Her kitchen companion, Daniel, is unknown to her and she is curious to understand his connection to Amy, but he keeps his own counsel, only proffering that the ‘Earth Angel’ reference may be alluding to The Penguins’ 1954 hit of the same name – something that Norah has never heard of. She is uncomfortable with his presence and tries to gently persuade him to leave, but Daniel has the quiet assurance – always unnerving to those who don’t have such surety – that he must stay longer, and Norah reluctantly leaves him alone with Gerald.

The philosopher Judith Shklar wrote that, ‘the condition of ignorance or uncertainty about other people’s behaviour is central to the notion of trust. We can’t ever have full capacity to achieve a full knowledge of others, their motives, their responses to all kinds of changes, be they physical, emotional or environmental, and our distrust of someone is a tentative and intrinsically fragile response to our ignorance, a way of coping with “the limits of our foresight”’. Simply put, Norah won’t allow herself to trust Daniel because she doesn’t know anything about him, and that uncertainty leads to events unfolding as they do.

Interestingly, there is a jokey hint of a suggestion that Norah herself may have a vested reason for the attentiveness she shows, with her own sights set on replacing Amy in Gerald’s bed, but, whilst she is a little naïve in some of her words, the audience recognises that Norah is only acting out of concern and quickly becomes alarmed as things get out of hand.

Russell Richardson, Iskandar Eaton

“Holds his composure”

Gerald is a retired schoolteacher whose life was only dedicated to his students until a colleague engineered a meeting with a fellow teacher, who was also a talented musician and singer, fifteen years younger than him, and adored by all who met her. Despite the age difference, and despite the rumours, theirs was a marriage of genuine love. A marriage of the kind spoken of in that ‘Earth Angel’ song in fact,

‘Earth angel, earth angel,
Will you be mine?
My darling, dear,
Love you all the time. I’m just a fool
A fool in love with you
Earth angel, earth angel
The one I adore
Love you forever and ever more…’

When Amy became ill, he devoted his life to caring for her. His career has taught him to accept all types of individuals. Enigmatic Daniel may be a stranger, but Gerald warms to him, and his instinct is to trust him until proven otherwise.

Daniel is played to controlled perfection by Iskandar Eaton, whom I hope we’re going to see much more of at SJT. Daniel’s need to communicate an important message to Gerald is probably up there as one of the most difficult things he has ever had to do in his young life. It could all go horribly wrong. But he holds his composure and integrity throughout, refusing to bow to the suspicions of others. He endears himself to Gerald through kind practicalities and allowing him the space to talk about Amy, quietly sprinkling just enough nuggets of self-reveal through the interactions to secure a bond there. But will it be enough?

Liza Goddard, Stuart Fox

“Absurd theories”

Norah’s discomfort with the situation forces her to call Gerald’s sister and brother-in-law. Despite their eagerness to get away from the day’s proceedings, they are all too keen to turn back at the first sniff of any possible wrongdoing. They haven’t encountered Daniel, but they have already formed a judgement – and it’s not a good one. Maxine, played by Liza Goddard, is fierce; her northern vowels ruthlessly squashed into oblivion, her hair lacquered into a battle helmet and her thick make-up sculpted into a warrior’s mask, she is not prepared to be messed with. Not unsurprisingly, she and gentle Gerald have never got on, even in childhood, and she despised Amy, mostly it seems, because her sister-in-law was so good-natured. A magistrate, Maxine believes everyone who ends up in court deserves to be there and relishes telling them so. She bellows at her husband, shouts at everyone else, and I suspect the unfed cat is relieved to have a few more hours’ peace before she finally arrives home.

Maxine’s husband Adrian, played by Stuart Fox, is an ex-policeman who has not totally left his thirst for a juicy crime behind. His wife believes he is useless, mercilessly bullies him, and his escape route is to exaggerate the limited insights his career gave him and to pursue the most ludicrously absurd theories for Daniel’s presence anyone could ever dream up. The local constabulary’s response is thankfully far less dramatic.

Norah has also expressed her worries to Hugo, another neighbour. Hugo, played deliciously by Hayden Wood, believes the internet is akin to holy scripture and not one word of it can be untruthful. Having wangled a night on Gerald’s sofa, he delves deeper and deeper into the comment forums and search engines to unravel the mystery of who Daniel really is, sending out his bizarre conclusions to the others. Strangers from across the globe, who have no idea who Daniel is, are, second by second, confirming his suspicions. Daniel has gone viral. Maxine, Adrian, and Hugo provide the majority of the comedy in Earth Angel, but it is through their foolishness that Ayckbourn makes his most salient points about how easily society judges anyone who appears different or is an outsider in the community. Norah – whose genuine anxiety began all of this – is the one who is most neutral in adhering to these theories. She uses her computer for e-mails, but isn’t a full-blown techie, and becomes genuinely concerned at how the three are handling the situation.

Russell Richardson, Hayden Wood

“Thought-provoking”

Before things get completely out of hand, Gerald puts his foot down, asks all of them to back off, and after a hearty breakfast, Daniel finally reveals his raison d’être. He is, like all of us, flawed, but has a courage and probity that is unquestionable. Does it all end happily? I suggest you go and watch for yourself and draw your own conclusions.

Earth Angel has Ayckbourn’s trademark comedy ribboned throughout. It wouldn’t be an Ayckbourn without it. But it is also, in essence, a thought-provoking play about goodness, trust, and basic humanity, and an extremely enjoyable one at that. All the cast and crew members, apart from Eaton, are well-known at SJT and that adds to the statement of the piece. Eaton is now no longer a stranger, and very much welcome back.

Trust in friends depends on what we need to trust them about. In previous generations, trust and friendship belonged together much more extensively. Today, the whole concept of ‘friends’ is much more diffused and goes way beyond localised familiarity, giving a greater freedom to include some highly unreliable people, and to trust them more than those physically present. If we were blessed with an unlimited computational ability to map out all possible contingencies and unknowns, trust wouldn’t be a problem, but life doesn’t work that way, and Earth Angel sets the scene for some interesting discussions that need to be had. It would be a great play to take a youth group to, or weave educational workshops around.

But it is, above all, another cracking good show from the master craftsman.

‘Earth Angel’ runs at Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, until October 11th, 2025
The post-show Q&A is scheduled for October 9th
images: Tony Bartholomew