The Stables Theatre and Arts Centre
The Bourne, Hastings
East Sussex TN34 3BD
01424 423221
The Bourne, Hastings
East Sussex TN34 3BD
01424 423221
Improbable Fiction
By Alan Ayckbourn
A Stables Theatre production
Directed by Christopher Lacey
7–15 March 2008
Reviewed by Penny Jeffries
By Alan Ayckbourn
A Stables Theatre production
Directed by Christopher Lacey
7–15 March 2008
Reviewed by Penny Jeffries
Alan Ayckbourn’s zany comedy Improbable Fiction, directed by Chris Lacey, delighted audiences at the Stables Theatre last week. A writers’ group meets at the home of the well-meaning Arnold Hassock, group chairman and part-time writer of instruction manuals. Other members attend as much for social as literary reasons and are all stuck in their writing. Jess Bales (Victoria Lawrence), lesbian farmer amongst other characters, and Grace (Fred Lacey), paranormal investigator amongst other roles, cannot start writing. Vivvi (Paula Leskovitz), a local journalist, cannot stop. Clem (Robin Willis), sci-fi enthusiast and later DCI Jim Rash, cannot find the right words, and Clive Osborne’s irascible Bevis (and then Dr Goodpiece!) has driven his collaborator into hiding. But a flash of lightning, and suddenly the hapless Arnold has to experience the likely results of such a collaboration, as their stories come to life.
Farce engulfed us as an increasingly surreal combination of changes of role, lighting, costumes, eras, props and doorbells ensued. Only the central character of Arnold, played with fine comic timing by Philip Blurton, remained unchanged. We zoomed from Victorian melodrama to 1930s detective fiction to an uplifting and totally bizarre musical finale, mixing in an X Files drama and a children’s picture book—hurrah!
Excellent props from the original production in Scarborough, including a metre-high moulded plastic walnut, added considerably to the high-quality look of the production—and what an entrance for Doblin the Goblin (Amy Graham), who emerged from the walnut as it was cracked open. Yes it is all true!
This was a play that required ensemble acting to bring the complex plot alive, and while perhaps at times actors could have played off each other more, we were carried along with the action. The two halves of the play differed considerably in tone, and the cast had to convey the emptinesses and desperation of the characters’ lives while at the same time allowing the comedy to flow. All the characters were realized, and the cast delivered the material with verve. Acted within an atmospheric hallway set with grand piano, no less—though a smaller one might have allowed more acting space—everyone thoroughly enjoyed an enthralling evening with lots of laughter. Ayckbourn was no doubt chuckling when he wrote this one.
Farce engulfed us as an increasingly surreal combination of changes of role, lighting, costumes, eras, props and doorbells ensued. Only the central character of Arnold, played with fine comic timing by Philip Blurton, remained unchanged. We zoomed from Victorian melodrama to 1930s detective fiction to an uplifting and totally bizarre musical finale, mixing in an X Files drama and a children’s picture book—hurrah!
Excellent props from the original production in Scarborough, including a metre-high moulded plastic walnut, added considerably to the high-quality look of the production—and what an entrance for Doblin the Goblin (Amy Graham), who emerged from the walnut as it was cracked open. Yes it is all true!
This was a play that required ensemble acting to bring the complex plot alive, and while perhaps at times actors could have played off each other more, we were carried along with the action. The two halves of the play differed considerably in tone, and the cast had to convey the emptinesses and desperation of the characters’ lives while at the same time allowing the comedy to flow. All the characters were realized, and the cast delivered the material with verve. Acted within an atmospheric hallway set with grand piano, no less—though a smaller one might have allowed more acting space—everyone thoroughly enjoyed an enthralling evening with lots of laughter. Ayckbourn was no doubt chuckling when he wrote this one.
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Photographs > www.artypharty.com
A selection of production photographs from the 1950s to the present is available at our photographer Peter Mould’s website.
A selection of production photographs from the 1950s to the present is available at our photographer Peter Mould’s website.
