Bedroom Farce

Bedroom Farce staged and performed by Southport Dramatic Club, Hoghton Street, Southport on Wednesday, 17th September, 2025

Bedroom Farce is a ‘Riotous Relationships Romp’ written by Alan Ayckbourn’s. This complex comedy farce takes place in three bedrooms during one night and the following morning.  The cast consists of four married couples, all of whom are dealing with personal problems! We are first introduced to the oldest couple, Delia and Ernest, who are getting ready to celebrate their wedding anniversary at their favourite restaurant. Next, our youngest couple, Malcolm and Kate who are preparing to host a housewarming party with the two remaining couples, Jan and Nick and Susannah and Trevor being the guests. At the last minute, Nick hurts his back and is confined to bed and is unable to attend the party, which adds a little more spice to the situation, because Jan, Nick’s wife, used to be the girlfriend of Trevor and after he and Susannah are seen to be having this almighty row, Susannah finds Trevor kissing Jan, resulting in Susannah storming out of the party and going to visit Delia and Ernest, whose connection to the plot is simple, they are the parents of Trevor! Susannah ends up staying with Delia and Ernest at their home and ends up sharing Delia's bed, forcing Ernest to sleep in the spare room, much to his dismay! Meanwhile, Trevor himself, feeling unable to go home, is offered a bed in a spare room by Kate, but he then decides to go and "straighten things out" with Nick and Jan first, leaving Kate waiting up for him! Eventually Trevor and Susannah appear to reconcile their differences ... or did they... complicated!

The Production Team ... I can only think that getting this ‘farce’ to stage, must have been an interesting yet challenging experience, a challenge taken up by Steve Pritchard, who not only directed the play, but who also took on one of the central roles (Ernest alongside his actual wife Helen who played Delia).  Steve appeared to have had a good handle on this story and how to get the best out of his experienced cast who all worked together really well. Well done, Steve... good job!

The Cast...  eight cast members formed our four couples; they were as follows....
First couple we meet... Steve Pritchard and Helen Pritchard (husband and wife in real life), who play ‘Ernest’ and ‘Delia’ respectively, the more mature of the couples we meet!  When we first set eyes on them, they are preparing for a night out at their favourite restaurant celebrating their wedding anniversary! They provided us with two totally believable characters, displaying all the aspects that a long and settled relationship can bring ...  Ernest’s worrying about their leaky roof, whilst Delia is only concerned about what clothes to wear.  Loved the hilarious interchange about ‘eating pilchards on toast in bed’ and the acceptance that it was the norm... well done you two!
Couple number two... Luke Rimmer and Sophie Rimmer (again a real-life married couple) who play ‘Malcolm’ and ‘Kate’ respectively. They were hosting a housewarming party and had invited their friends Nick and Jan ... Trevor and Susannah our other two couples. Malcolm and Sophie also created two believable characters, both bringing energy and humour to the stage. Their mischievous hiding of items and the mixed emotions as the party falls to pieces was acted out really well.  PS... Sophie’s ability to get changed under the bedclothes without moving very little was impressive, less so Luke’s ability to build flat pack furniture!
Couple number three ... Phil Povey and Fi Billington played ‘Nick’ and ‘Jan’ ... this was another partnership that worked ever so well. Loved their interactions, which were always believable.
Loved Phil’s grumpy nature, suited the character down to the ground, but I said at the after-show meet with the cast, that Phil had the best part ever!  Never moving out of bed, oh except when he fell out onto the floor... his histrionics when attempting to get back, aided by Jan, who somehow ended up on top of him was hilarious! Great chemistry, loved the togetherness ... be very proud!
Final couple ... ‘Susannah’ and ‘Trevor’ played by Zara Newton and Edward James ... who I suppose could best be described as the ‘troublemakers’ or the ‘unwelcome pair’ from this plot!  Whenever or wherever we meet up with them, ‘mayhem, chaos and confusion’ reigns!  Loved Zara’s meltdowns and the way they created so many amusing moments and situations which were totally enjoyed /appreciated by everyone present. Again, worked well together... be proud you two!

As most will know this is where I usually stick MY neck out and start selecting a ‘showstealer’ and MY favourite character(s) ... but once again, I find myself suggesting that to start suggesting that someone was better than someone else would be wrong... this was very much a ‘team effort’ an ensemble piece, with everyone contributing wholeheartedly to the cause ... be proud one and all.  

Stage/Set/Tech... although the stage set up was quite basic, I felt the three-bedrooms with their distinctive décor worked really well and helped emphasis the individuality of each couple. Well positioned exit and entry points helped allow this play to flow with ease.   So, its congrats to Lindsay Haywood (Stage Manager), Pete Beswick and Steve Pritchard (Set Design – good jobs you two) and the ever-present Scenic Artist Bob Jessamine doing a fabulous job, yet again, with the set painting!  Lighting and effects where in the hands of Nick Yates (SDC Team) and Scott Crawford and what a great job they did, with Pete Beswick overseeing the Sound.

Wardrobe... as is the norm here at SDC... costumes were first rate, adding to and enhancing the production being looked after by Sally Bartlett for the SDC Wardrobe Team and the Cast!

Props... again, always of a good quality under the watchful eye of Cath Dunn, Adrienne Ledson
and the cast!  

To sum up ... if I’m honest, I did feel the narrative was slightly dated (flat pack jokes not as humorous as they were in the 1970’s), but having said that the cast did a great job in creating and showing the diversity of the characters and their marriages and with the script as a whole! If I may, could I offer just a little ‘constructive advice’, which I’m sure you are all more than aware of and I am being very picky here, but there were times when the dialogue got slightly lost, simply because I couldn’t hear what was being said and I was sat mid theatre.  It’s essential, especially when not ‘miked’, to ‘project’ even with ‘stage whispers’, those people sat on the back row need to hear every word!  Plus, when I think of ‘farce’ I always think comedy, improbable, ridiculous situations ... experts like Jack Benny and Brian Rix did it ever so well... it’s all about snappy delivery and I did feel there were times when the pace did drop slightly, which resulted in some of the humour being affected!  I am being slightly picky here, why, because I really do like a ‘good farce’ and I did think the cast made a good job of it overall!

Thank you so much for inviting me to your Civic Evening, for you welcome and your hospitality throughout. Thanks for allowing me to speak to the cast briefly post show... look forward to seeing you all again soon!

Stay safe, Keep well
Stronger Together

Jim Briscoe ...
NODA NW
District 6 Rep
 

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