Bedroom Farce
Review
By Alan Ayckbourn13–21 April 2012
By Alan Ayckbourn13–21 April 2012
It is nearly forty years from Bedroom Farce’s first outing. Since then a layer of nostalgia has been added, which was thoroughly exploited by director Zoe Morgan’s detailed production of the piece. Underneath the nostalgia though, this craftily worked play wickedly disassembles the structure of marriage to reveal the seam of self-doubt and uncertainty locked below the surface of our relationships. read more
Played on an intriguing set, which garnered applause of its own as the curtains went back, four couples are tested through the indignities of a very long night. The action, set in three bedrooms, proceeds to drop Trevor and Susannah, uninvited and unwanted, into the bedrooms of their friends, ex-partners and parents, using their self-obsession and lack of reserve as the charge to disturb the settled relationships of the others.
Ernest and Delia, Trevor’s ageing parents, were delightfully portrayed by Michael Wilson and Yvee Lester, working efficiently to deliver Ayckbourn’s lines with conviction and eliciting their laughs with ease. Jan (Charlotte Eastes) and Nick (Tim Wormley-Healing), the mature couple formed from the wreckage of Jan and Trevor’s former relationship, were cleverly played, with Tim Wormley-Healing’s tortured, irritable wincing at both situation and back pain making excellent comic use of the script. Their relationship was made credible, at least in part, by Charlotte Eastes’ spirited lack of sympathy.
Kate (Dani Brown) and Malcolm (Oliver Mann), played with more than a nod to Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice, saw their young married playfulness turn to doubt and distress in the glare of Trevor and Susannah’s too-public dispute. Elinor Drew as Susannah, whose early make-up perfectly captured her too-public disarray, was on top of her performance throughout. Alec Mohun-Smith’s best moments as Trevor were shared with Tim Wormley-Healing, the two locked together in a counterpoint of agonies on the waterbed.
Well done to the sound and lighting technicians, who were called on to keep the piece in motion, and congratulations to the set builders, who managed yet another transformation in short order and great effect. Costumes and props all contributed to the atmosphere. Playing to sell-out audiences again at the theatre, the production was completely entertaining and brought the play to bustling life. Final praise belongs to Sir Alan Ayckbourn, who continues to delight on so many levels and with such verve that any production is bound, as did this, to please.
Martin Robinson
Ernest and Delia, Trevor’s ageing parents, were delightfully portrayed by Michael Wilson and Yvee Lester, working efficiently to deliver Ayckbourn’s lines with conviction and eliciting their laughs with ease. Jan (Charlotte Eastes) and Nick (Tim Wormley-Healing), the mature couple formed from the wreckage of Jan and Trevor’s former relationship, were cleverly played, with Tim Wormley-Healing’s tortured, irritable wincing at both situation and back pain making excellent comic use of the script. Their relationship was made credible, at least in part, by Charlotte Eastes’ spirited lack of sympathy.
Kate (Dani Brown) and Malcolm (Oliver Mann), played with more than a nod to Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice, saw their young married playfulness turn to doubt and distress in the glare of Trevor and Susannah’s too-public dispute. Elinor Drew as Susannah, whose early make-up perfectly captured her too-public disarray, was on top of her performance throughout. Alec Mohun-Smith’s best moments as Trevor were shared with Tim Wormley-Healing, the two locked together in a counterpoint of agonies on the waterbed.
Well done to the sound and lighting technicians, who were called on to keep the piece in motion, and congratulations to the set builders, who managed yet another transformation in short order and great effect. Costumes and props all contributed to the atmosphere. Playing to sell-out audiences again at the theatre, the production was completely entertaining and brought the play to bustling life. Final praise belongs to Sir Alan Ayckbourn, who continues to delight on so many levels and with such verve that any production is bound, as did this, to please.
Martin Robinson
A Stables Theatre production
Director: Zoe Morgan
Director: Zoe Morgan
A selection of photographs of Stables Theatre productions is available on our photographer Peter Mould’s website.
www.artypharty.com
www.artypharty.com
Entertaining Angels by Richard Everett (10–18 February)
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (9–17 March)
Bedroom Farce by Alan Ayckbourn (13–21 April)
The Winslow Boy by Terence Rattigan (11–19 May)
The Real Inspector Hound and Red Peppers by Tom Stoppard and Noël Coward (6–14 July)
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare (25–28 July)
The 39 Steps by John Buchan, Alfred Hitchcock and Patrick Barlow (13–18 August)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare (5–8 September)
Mine by Polly Teale (21–29 September)
Cranford adapted by Martyn Coleman, from the stories by Mrs Gaskell (19–27 October)
Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo and Gavin Richards (16–24 November)
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and John Mortimer (14–29 December)
2012 season review
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (9–17 March)
Bedroom Farce by Alan Ayckbourn (13–21 April)
The Winslow Boy by Terence Rattigan (11–19 May)
The Real Inspector Hound and Red Peppers by Tom Stoppard and Noël Coward (6–14 July)
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare (25–28 July)
The 39 Steps by John Buchan, Alfred Hitchcock and Patrick Barlow (13–18 August)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare (5–8 September)
Mine by Polly Teale (21–29 September)
Cranford adapted by Martyn Coleman, from the stories by Mrs Gaskell (19–27 October)
Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo and Gavin Richards (16–24 November)
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and John Mortimer (14–29 December)
2012 season review
