Review: BEDROOM FARCE, The Mill at Sonning
Photo credit: Andreas Lambis
Bedroom Farce was written by Alan Ayckbourn in 1975 when his annual situation comedies transferred from his Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough to the West End, and he was acclaimed as the master of original theatrical comedy. His plays combined clever theatrical tricks with well observed middle class British behaviours of the period, but they do now feel, fifty years later, anachronistic time pieces. However, Sally Hughes, the Artistic Director of the Mill at Sonning, knows what her audiences for the Berkshire Dinner Theatre like to see and they love revivals of 70s and 80s comedies from writers such as Ray Conney and Alan Ayckbourn.
The action takes place simultaneously in the bedrooms of three couples, cleverly squeezed onto the tiny Sonning stage and after a slow first half in which characters and relationship are established, explodes into a clever farce as the events switch quickly between the rooms. Earnest (Stuart Fox) and Delia (Julia Hills) are worried about their son, Trevor (Ben Porter) whose marriage to Susannah (Allie Crocker) is going through a difficult time. His former girlfriend Jan (Georgia Burrell) is now married to Nick (Damian Matthews), who is required to spend the whole show on his back in bed! When Jan goes to Kate (Rhiannon Handy) and Malcolm’s (Anthony Eden) party, Trevor and Susannah argue and Trevor kisses Jan setting up the amusing second half.
It is a neat construct on a composite set that allows us to see the parallel conversations of the couples with plenty of light references to the couples’ sex lives without being obvious, crude or explicit. On the limited space of the Mill at Sonning’s stage, the three double beds leave little room for the interactions except on the beds themselves. There are some good visual gags as a result as Earnest and Delia eat pilchards on toast in bed, Jan struggles to get Nick back into bed after he falls out and as Kate is caught changing as guests dump their coats on her bed (as we always used to do at 70s house parties!) Director Robin Herford builds the pace and energy as the evening progresses, ensures the cast deliver the rather stereotypical characterisations well and there are plenty of laughs in the second half as the farcical interchanges develop. Yet overall, while it is a mildly amusing evening and a good overall production, it does feel as if comedy has moved on since it was written and ultimately the play needs a better final punchline and to offer something more to its audience.
We can admire, once again, Ayckbourn’s mastery of the theatrical form and the way he plays with theatre conventions. As so often the clever construct, which became even more complex in his later plays such as Sisterly Feelings with a coin toss deciding Act 3, Way Upstream set on the river and Intimate Exchanges with sixteen possible endings, is the core of the play. We find ourselves not engaging with the characters or the story but the clever way in which he has structured the dialogue and uses the stage and for us, that is his lasting legacy. This pleasant production is a reminder of that period from 1965 with Relatively Speaking to 1984 with Chorus of Disapproval when he was the innovator and master of theatrical comedy. For this well-fed Berkshire audience, it appears that, just like the steak and mushroom pie before the show, this fare is just what they want to be served. At a time when some regional plays struggle to attract audiences, The Mill at Sonning continues to programme effectively to satisfy its returning audiences and long may that continue. Next up is something completely different, The Whistling, which promises a chilling world premiere, which could not be further from this Bedroom Farce revival.
*** Three stars
Reviewed by: Nick Wayne
Bedroom Farce plays at The Mill at Sonning until 21 September, with further info here.