Confusions

Buscot Park Theatre is a wonderful setting for a summer evening’s entertainment, and Faringdon Dramatic Sociey’s production of Alan Ayckbourn’s “Confusions” lived up to its setting.  Such a compact space demands an intimate play, and “Confusions” is in fact a series of four short plays based on the themes of loneliness and relationships. 

A great strength of the evening was that I really believed in all of the characters – whether they were regressing to childhood, ignoring their spouses’ affairs, or mired in the fete worse than death.  The actors all knew and timed their lines so well that you forgot that’s what you were hearing, and the characterisations were so good because of the attention to detail.  The gestures, the mannerisms, the reactions – all were understated and subtle enough to work in such an intimate space, where a raised eyebrow can say so much more than an expansive sweep of the arm.

The settings were realised exclusively through well-chosen properties – for example, the marquee at the fete was suggested through a short length of bunting – and such economy of style means that you look for the meaning in every detail.  Costumes were well chosen to enhance the characterisations.  All in all this was a very polished programme in an extraordinary venue.

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