Review: IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY, The Mill at Sonning
Photo credit: Carla Joy Evans
The Mill at Sonning’s wonderful dinner theatre has gone through a transformation ahead of the opening of its latest comedy, It Runs In The Family, with the launch of table service replacing the traditional buffet service that has operated for over forty years. Sally Hughes , the MD and Artistic Director, has taken the opportunity to upgrade the restaurant with new tables, chairs and imagery, which blends in with the splendid wooden beams of the old Mill. It creates a delightful ambience as we dine with the gentle background chatter ahead of the show. The stalwart meal of steak and ale pie makes the transition from the huge pie trays to individual pie dishes without losing any of its flavour! The wonderful young staff serve the 215 covers efficiently and pleasantly, satisfying the hordes of returning customers who love this unique theatre experience.
Each season, she includes a revival of an 80’s style comedy, usually a Ray Cooney or Alan Ayckbourn, and this year, it is the 1987 play, It Runs In The Family. These farces around marital infidelity dominated the stages of the 80’s and it is always fascinating to see how revivals fare with a 21st Century crowd. The Mill knows its audience who lap it up with nostalgic glee and in this case, perhaps spurred on by the memory of such TV shows as Richard Gordon’s Doctor in the House (1969-1970) or the Carry On films of Nurse, Matron and Doctor (1959-1972). Any of the characters in this play could have been lifted straight from those productions. Cooney’s comedy is in the full tradition of Brian Rix Farces (1954-1973) with fast paced mistaken identities and ever-increasing ludicrous situations that don’t stand scrutiny. It requires the cast of ten to throw themselves at the madcap mayhem with great energy and comic timing, and play it as if they believe the nonsense. At times, it verges on pantomime with its cross dressing and slapstick comedy.
Dr Mortimer is preparing to give the prestigious Ponsonby lecture to 200 neurologists, the success of which should secure him the position of Head Physician and a knighthood. His careful preparation and rehearsal is interrupted by the arrival of Nurse Tate who explains that eighteen years and nine months ago, his liaison with her had led to the birth of a son, Leslie, who has arrived at the hospital to find his father. Mortimer’s frantic attempts to hide the affair from his wife, Rosemary, Sir Willoughby Drake, the Chair of the Governor, Matron and his colleague Dr Bonny (originally played by Cooney himself) provide the basis for the confusion.
Steven Pinder plays the ever more desperate Doctor, while James Bradshaw plays the bemused Dr Bonny. The interplay between the two is played with great gusto and wild expressions that generate plenty of laughs from the well fed audience. Elizabeth Elvin returns to the Mill as the unfortunate Matron who unwittingly gets drawn into the chaos, while Eric Carte is the frustrated Willoughby anxious to approve the lecture in advance. Rachel Fielding as the Doctor’s wife Rosemary and Titus Rowe as the police sergeant are the only character that behave in a rational sane way. Francis Redfern is the unfortunate goth, Leslie trying to establish which Doctor is his father.
The set design by Alex Marker makes good use of the intimate stage space with an excellent Georgian building backdrop visible through the raised bay window with its external large sill and as usual, the three entrances flat against the back wall. As in any farce, there is plenty of door slamming and carefully timed entrances and exits. The set is well furnished capturing the sense of a 90’s Doctor’s common room.
Ron Aldridge has plenty of experience of the genre as an actor, writer and director, and gets the best from the cast ensuring its full-on action and the base humour is delivered with pace and precision but there is little room for nuance or subtlety in the script. It fully honours the traditions of farce and does generate plenty of laughs, but these plays don’t stand the test of time like a restoration comedy and feel stuck in a moment in time without anything to say to a modern audience. Its entertaining , nostalgic and silly and if that is how you like your comedy, this production is a perfect example that will have you chuckling as you digest your steak and ale pie.
*** Three stars
Reviewed by: Nick Wayne
It Runs In The Family plays at The Mill at Sonning until 12 April, with further info here.