Ding Dong

DING DONG is a comedy farce written by Marc Camoletti and adapted for the English stage by Tudor Gates. As with any farce, it is a ridiculously complex plot and there are situations which would hardly ever occur in real life. Bernard knows his wife is having an affair and he knows who with, so he proposes to return the favour with his wife’s lover’s wife. Who is introduced  s the wife, but who is in fact a Russian call girl. Then add to the mix a downtrodden maid, who is not the brightest star in the sky, and you have complications.

The action of the play takes place in the Marcellins duplex apartment in Paris, which looked and worked very well with the script. The play had a very slick pace and the speech was still very clear and every word could be heard. The six characters worked very well together but Ben Gander, who played Bernard Marcellin, shone and held the show together with his fast pace, his great physical comedy acting was also very funny. But the person who really stood out was Stephanie Taylor who played the Maid (Marie-Louise) who was the downtrodden maid who could do nothing right, but had excellent comic timing and great facial expressions. Her use of the swing door to the kitchen was an act by itself.

When entering the theatre, the first impression was the excellent set with at least 4 doors, a balcony and steps, which certainly assisted with the fast pace and set the standard of the impending production. The balcony also worked well when cast were trying to hide from a certain situation. The lighting and sound also set the scene and the lighting from the balcony was great in setting the timing of each day.

The costumes were very authentic with the distinction between the housewife, maid and the call girl.

Finally, the production by Lion and Unicorn Players was well received by the audience who by their laughter showed that they were thoroughly enjoying their evening.

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