Absurd Person Singular

Omne trium perfectum  is an old Latin phrase that means "Good things come in threes". FADS took this to heart with their choice of this play. It has three acts; it has a cast of three couples; it takes place in three different kitchens; it examines three households as they celebrate three Christmas Eves; it takes place over a period of three years.

First we meet the easy-going Sidney (Alex Medwell) and his wife Jane (Yasmin Nixon).The characters were very well portrayed. These two people were kind and trying to live a normal life and attempting to get to know some better connected people and so were having Christmas drinks with an architect and a bank manager with their wives. Neither of these really wanted to be there and the party came to an end quite quickly.

We then see the following year at the house of the architect, Geoffrey (Simon Weston) and his suicidal wife Eva (Lyndsay Kite). The role of these parts was excellently cast. The long soliloquy at the beginning of this act was very wordy and well executed by Simon. Throughout the act Eva made many attempts to end her life, ending in abject failure. The party again comes to premature end.  The technical team worked hard in this act with precise timing as the lights were being turned on and off before the accidental electrocution.

The final scene is at the house of bank manager Ronald (Mike Smith) and his wife, the alcoholic Marion (Elizabeth Toon).  Yet again, casting for this couple was well chosen. The plot by now has become rather dark and the circumstances of all three couples has changed dramatically. No happy ending at the end of this play but nevertheless an entertaining evening from this talented company. Congratulations to the director, actors and backstage crew. 

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