 | Matthew Taylor (@matthewtaylorx) |
Relatively Speaking@The Wyndhams. Play that got Ayckbourn going. Soon to be engaged girl tries to sort her sugar daddy past. Cue farce. 8/10 | |
Four hander with Felicity Kendal and Kara Tointon drawing in two generations of audience, possibly for the same reason. Both good in their own right but Kendals experience showed with her better stage presence and delivery.
Just like there is supposed to be one original joke there is also just one original farce. Having recently seen the very good Private Lives and not too long before that the excellent Magistrate and before that....and before that...one could conclude that all farce is based on a small number of characters and one big misunderstanding?
In this case a concealed affair leading to mistaken parental identity.
The first scene was a little laboured, but I was assured by the person in the seat next to me, glory shine upon her, that this was necessary to set the story up. Now I understand that setting the comic traps and bating the hooks for our funny bones is needed but I am sure it could be done in a less wooden staccato way and with more humour along the way.
Once we get to scene two and Felicity Kendal joins the play the pace picks up and the fun begins. Wave upon wave of misunderstanding build and soon we are drawn hook, line and sinker into the turbulent surf of Ayckbourns plot.
Ok. Ok. Too much fish.
Jonathan Coy and Max Bennett are the husband of Kendal and soon to be fiancé of Tointon. Coy and Bennett had their moments when script and performance came together perfectly, but you were left with the impression that Kendal could make more of an average line (script not fishing) than Coy (actor not carp), Bennett or Tointon.
A funny, light hearted, play, better in my view to Privates Lives. A farce that did what it said on the tin. Not Ronseal. Sardines!
