Absent Friends

This was the opening performance of Alan Ayckbourn’s play, ‘Absent Friends,’ a comedy set in the 1970’s and directed by Dominic Holmes. It was a warm evening, but it did not distract the audience’s attention to the action of the play, which took place in the living room of the home of characters Paul and Diana, with furniture and props so very right for the period. Dominic’s set design for this play was meticulously detailed. It included net curtains at the window; a small bar area with stools; a drop-down leafed table at the back with a wooden chair at either side of it; a chimney breast with a clock typically of that era, shaped like the sun or a star; two wall lights and a settee placed centrally, which was draped with a home crocheted blanket. On burnt orange walls therewas an abstract painting and on different tables, a red telephone with the coffee table, in front of the sofa, showingcoffee cups and a plate of covered up sandwiches.

The play centres on three couples at a tea party hosted by Diana to comfort Colin, whose fiancée Carol had recently drowned. Paul, John and Marge’s husband, Gordon, were old school friends of Colin. He is a jolly character and quite oblivious of the tensions around him. Colin is happy to talk about Carol and share photos, completely unaware of the discomfort of everyone around him, and, there is plenty of tension and bitterness that underlies the other marriages!

In the first scene we meet Evelyn, who has brought her baby along in a pram which she rocks whilst moodily flicking through a magazine, seated at the bar. She chews gum throughout the play and engages with no one unless prompted to do so. She is married to John, who describes her as a’ strong, silent woman,’ for whom,’ Misery is a natural state.’Diana, the perfect hostess, is well intentioned to invite Colinto this gathering but is convinced that her philandering husband, Paul, is having an affair with Evelyn and she does not conceal her anger. Paul is always working or playing squash and the fractures in their marriage unravel slowly on this occasion, over tea and sandwiches. The party is completed by Marge, a friendly soul, an ever-helpful friend who enjoys domesticity and whose hypochondriac husband, Gordon, is constantly at home ill, whom she nurses daily. His frequent phone calls indicate that he is quite demanding of her. Additionally, the quality of her life without children is not as fulfilling as she had anticipated. Throughout this playMarge proves herself to be supportive to Diana and strove to maintain the status quo as tensions arose, mopping up tears and spills.  Into this mix, just before the end of Act 1, Colin, arrives on stage, a happy upbeat chap, very chatty about himself and his fond memories of the deceased Carol, (surprisingly not sad),without realising that the relationshipsin the room are imploding in his company.

There were some very strong character portrayals in this performance. Louise Farmer was superb in her role of Diana, who tried to put on a brave face on things before she had a total breakdown. Her use of facial expression and movement made her totally real as an anxious, despairing wife of a womaniser. When she recalled her life as wasted, she screamed out that she had wanted since childhood, to join the Royal Canadian Mounted police. This revealed how disturbed she really was. Dominic Holmes, the director of this play,additionally acted the part of Paul. His character was consistently detached and sometimes deliberately rude and arrogant in role during the play. Dominic gave a fine performance. Denise Bowen – Walters was fabulous as Marge, a very loyal friend to Diana. I found her character both relatable and very funny at times. She purchased additional kitchen roll holders for her friend on a whim and walked around the room trying out her new shoes, which did not fit well. Denise brought depth to her character her reactions and responses to every line spoken were visible in her body language, her expressions priceless. Christina Peakcharacterised the part of the monosyllabic, morose, gum chewing, bored Evelyn, wife of John, perfectly. As she flicked through the pages of the same magazine maintaining a frown,and using some sarcastic facial expressions, it was very clear she didn’t want to socialise with anyone. When Marge directly asked her if she had slept with Paul she retorted,’ Having sex with him in the back of his car was about as exciting as being made love to by a sack of clammy cement.’Chris Pilkington played the ever-fidgety role of John with nervous twitching. He maintained this restlessness and jumpiness in his character during the entirety of the play, with an inability to sit down for long; not able to resist strokingfurniture; fiddling with items on the table and pacing the roomwith some arm waving. Chris kept this irritating momentum going so he became successfully ingrained in the audience’s attention even when he wasn’t part of the dialogue. Dale Roberts was so well cast as the bright eyed, delightful but insensitive character, Colin who jollied everyone with talk of love for Carol and his reminisces, even when Diana entered the room and poured cream over her errant husband’s head!Dale gave a warm performance and played this part so wonderfully well.

This was a talented and enthusiastic cast who were well rehearsed. Dominic is to be congratulated on the successful run of this play, where human interactions in troubled relationships had been keenly observed, both in the script and on the stage, with plenty of carefully crafted humour exploiting the situation. Thank you for inviting me.

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