Bedroom Farce

Alan Ayckbourn has written many excellent plays and this is one of the classics.  It details the relationships between 4 very disparate couples.  Director Vic Gray gathered 8 very strong performers for this production and the pace was good, the comedy was perfectly timed, the characterisations were very strong and the play was entertaining from start to finish.

Lisa Chapman (Delia) and Eric Smith (Ernest) captured the epitome of the well-established couple.  Quite set in their ways but with some very humorous moments in their relationship.  The partnership worked well and their timing was excellent.  Mike Jones (Nick) and Victoria Grayling (Jan) played off each other well, Mike was restricted by having to remain in bed for virtually the whole play, but it didn’t stop him portraying the character well.  Victoria produced a strong performance too.

Luke Coldham (Trevor) gave a very good performance as the hapless Trevor, never quite getting it right and getting into all sorts of trouble along the way.  Louise Alsop played his angst-ridden wife Susannah beautifully.  Finally, the young couple Kate, played well by Stephanie Firth and Josh Handley playing Malcolm.  A well-observed performance from them both and Josh, in particular, is always a joy to watch.

Set by Paul Lazell, was, as always, spot on and with no mics needed the 8 performers projected well.   Even when Josh had his head in a cupboard we could still hear every word!  All 8 performers demonstrated the high level of performance skills we have come to expect from Thurrock Courts Players lately.  Costumes were to the period, they were not credited in the programme but well done to whoever was responsible for them.

The only comment I would make is that the lighting was not really focussed in the right places.  A lot of it was highlighting the scenery and, whilst I understand the need to have three separately lit areas, there were too many dark spots on the stage that could have been better lit.

That apart, this was an excellent production with a strong cast and we enjoyed the performance immensely.

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