Bedroom Farce

I must admit that as I sat down in the auditorium and took in that the set comprised three separate bedrooms, and the cast list suggested four couples, I thought it could only be a matter of time before somebody, or everybody, ended up in the wrong bed, possibly at the behest of a policeman, or vicar, who is subsequently and mysteriously divested of his trousers.  I couldn’t have been more wrong (apart from the fact that a couple of characters did indeed spend some time in the wrong beds).  This isn’t a classic farce, or arguably a farce at all; it is a comic yet fascinating study of human attraction and of why some relationships endure, with the added appeal of a bit of time travel back to the 1970s.

The time frame is important in trying to understand the attitudes and behaviours of the various characters.  The 1970s, as the Director observed in the programme, was a period of great social change, particularly with regard to women’s place in Society.  Ernest and Delia, a generation older than the other couples in the play, find some of these changes perplexing.  Nick and Jan, although relatively conservative in their attitudes, are moving with the times (or would be if Nick wasn’t confined to bed with a bad back).  Malcolm and Kate are newly married, finding their feet and living their best lives.  Disrupting these couples’ lives and bedrooms are Trevor, a bohemian philosopher who might have rolled one joint too many, and Susannah, whose neuroses radiate out into the auditorium.

So relationships ebb and flow, Susannah ends up in bed with Delia and Trevor ends up in bed with Nick, but it’s all very logical and respectable, and it’s all quite fascinating.  Ayckbourn’s writing puts these characters under the microscope, and the talented company, under experienced direction, made sure that the focus stayed sharp.

The production standards were as impeccable as always.  The well-considered set included impressive period detailing, while the costumes included many of the characteristic styles, and indeed unfortunate excesses, of 1970s fashion.  This was an enjoyable, thought-provoking and polished presentation, and The Sinodun Players’ capacity to stage such a dense and varied programme of consistently high quality productions is truly impressive.

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