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Review: Bedroom Farce, Theatre Royal, Brighton
THREE bedrooms, four couples, and Alan Ayckbourn – a winning comedy combination. Add to the mix Peter Hall, directing a revival of a play he first tackled more than 30 years ago, and the scene is set for a memorable evening of mirth and madness.
Perhaps it was the infuriating whistling hearing aid in the audience, maybe it was the warm evening, but somehow this production of Bedroom Farce, Ayckbourn's study of middle class marriage and the cracks that lie beneath relationships took its time to engage and, even when it did, it fell a little short of being the masterpiece of comedy that it should be.
Simon Higlett's set crammed three very different bedrooms onto the stage providing the background for the shattering of domestic bliss that unfolded as self-centred Trevor (Oliver Boot) and his neurotic wife visited the bedrooms of three couples and revealed the tensions undergirding them all.
Star billing went to Juliet Mills (who joined the always pleasing Bruce Montague as the elderly couple whose marriage had become uneventful and predictable) and Maxwell Caulfield (bedridden and disagreeable, suffering from a bad back as his wife bumped into an old flame at a party).
But the undoubted stars of the evening were Ayden Callaghan as practical joker Malcolm, trying to build up the perfect home with a lack of DIY expertise, and Julia Mallam as his wife Kate, a sweetie distracted by carpets when making love. Their characterisation was spot-on and hilarious, and it was an interesting coincidence given the strength of their performances that their 'bedroom' should be centre-stage.
It would be nice to see some other Ayckbourn gems revived professionally, and this production may not be as rousing as other recent versions, but this Bill Kenwright production at least proves Bedroom Farce is no snooze.
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Weather for Haywards Heath
Sunday 27 May 2012
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Temperature: 10 C to 26 C
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