English Playwright Ayckbourn

'Bedroom Farce' feels like a sit-com

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company has chosen Brit playwright Alan Ayckbourn's 1975 "Bedroom Farce" as its summer romp, an opportunity to cut loose from its classics schedule.

A very able ensemble takes on the comedy about four couples and three bedrooms - shame on you, absolutely nothing naughty happens. But as played at Shakespeare, some choices don't do Ayckbourn proud.

The great joy of Ayckbourn's comedies are their intricacy and sophistication, neither of which come off as successfully as they should at Cincinnati Shakespeare, for a variety of reasons.

The play is meant to look at three generations of couples, and how they work and don't work, and to find their way through the rough patches that all couples have.

At the center of "Bedroom Farce" is attractive but selfish, self-involved, self-obsessed Trevor (Brent Vimtrup). He and his screaming, neurotic wife Susannah (Miranda McGee) manage to bring chaos wherever they go.

Vimtrup is a new addition to the company and shows promise, although he doesn't rise to the heights of Trevor's capacity to both annoy and win over the ladies with a character flaw they mistakenly read as vulnerability; McGee's performance is the real deal, wildly funny and deeply sad under the comic surface. She consistently delivers quietly terrific work for CSC.

Their first stop is the housewarming party of Malcolm and Kate (Jeremy Dubin and Sara Clark), the supposedly youngest couple. Also invited are Nick and Jan (Nick Rose and Kelly Mengelkoch). But Nick is home with a back spasm and Susannah catches Trevor with his former girlfriend Jan in a clinch in the bedroom.

All sorts of things happen, including Susannah showing up at the home of her happily settled in-laws (Kate Wilford and Jim Hopkins), whose idea of a wild night is eating sardines on toast in bed.

A hallmark of farce is that it gallops, and Ayckbourn, in particular, demands split-second timing to up the comedy ante, but this production, directed by Brian Isaac Phillips, moves along like an American sitcom. The tight space may, in part, contribute to the problem.

I'll pause to say if your expectations are not raised above sitcoms, you'll be fine with this "Bedroom Farce."

Set designer Travis McElroy manages to wedge three bedroom sets onto the Shakespeare stage, and each carries the personalities of its occupants. But these are tight performing spaces and "Bedroom Farce" is a show that demands room to maneuver.

How the Other Half Loves « Entertain This Thought

Huron Country Playhouse opened their new second stage with a hilarious comedy “How The Other Half Loves”. As workers scrambled get the seats in the new theatre, the show was taking to the stage. The new theatre opened minus finishing touches such as trim, final painting and curtains on the stage.

The space is going to be wonderful, with a large stage and 300 roomy seats on a slanted floor with good sightlines, compared to only 150 chairs on a flat floor in the old Playhouse II. Apparently, carpenters and painters will continue working each Monday when there are no performances, to finish the theatre. Artistic Director Alex Mustakas joked that we should not lean back too far in our seats as they haven’t had time to bolt them to the floor yet.

To christen the new theatre, an old comedy was presented, one that I had seen on the main stage at Huron Country Playhouse, possibly 25 or 30 years ago. How the Other Half Loves is a comedy by Sir Alan Ayckbourn, a prolific British playwright, who excels at making an audience laugh at the foibles of people in relationships.

The story involves the lives of three couples: Frank and Fiona Foster (Rob McClure and Marlene Handraham), Bob and Teresa Phillips (David Snelgrove and Daniela Vlaskalic) and William and Mary Featherstone (Keith Savage and Lisa Horner). Frank is the well-to-do boss of Bob and William. Fiona, a more mature woman, is having an affair with Bob, a younger cad. Both are lying to their spouses to cover their infidelity. Frank is oblivious to the affair thinking everything is fine in his marriage, while Teresa is very unhappy, stuck at home with a young child. Both the unfaithful spouses have used innocent bystanders William and Mary Featherstone in their alibis, saying they have been out late helping William or Mary, creating falsehoods about the state of William and Mary’s marriage. Obviously the web of lies unravels with great hilarity.

What makes this play special is that it allows the audience to transcend time and space to see what is happening with all the characters at all times. The set is brilliantly built, with walls zig-zagging across the stage. Both the Fosters and Phillips’ homes are represented by every other piece of wall. Congratulations to set and lighting designer Steve Lucas for pulling off this interesting mishmash.

The Fosters’ home is well-appointed with handsome woodwork, while the Phillips’ home has tacky sixties-style turquoise wall-paper. Even the table is comprised of both homes – lengthwise it is Fosters table, with a lace tablecloth and crystal wine glasses. Crosswise it is the Phillips table with a green plastic tablecloth and tumblers for the wine, stuffed with paper towel due to a lack of napkins.

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Modern dramatists, a casebook of major British, Irish, and American playwrights

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