Family Planning - a comedy

 ‘Family Planning’ is a comedy written by Frank Vickery.  While he is not a playwright I am familiar with, this was an excellent script for a smaller group to use due to the limited cast numbers and simple staging.  The script was very well devised to create some very amusing characters who spark off each other brilliantly, to create some wonderfully bizarre and yet familiar situations.

This was a very well planned and thought through production, with the set  the same throughout the action.   This comprised a bedroom and living room with connecting stairs and hallway, and a doorway to the kitchen which worked very well and gave good space for movement. The area was beautifully designed to make the most of the rather limited stage area, with Gran’s bedroom higher than the hallway and lounge, giving a good sense of reality to those who moved between the spaces. Gran’s shouting downstairs was very effective here in creating an even greater sense of distance, while her apparent inability to hear the conversations in the lounge enhanced that impression. There were some lovely details to the set, with a barometer hanging centrally, flowers on the two tables, an ironing board with an iron behind the settee, and coat hooks in the hallway. It was nice to see the side table projecting towards the audience, too, breaking out of the box set boundary. The bedroom was very realistic, with a bedside cupboard and small table - and startling wallpaper on one wall!

The sound effects and incidental music were just right, while the lighting was simple but very effective in recreating the inside of a house. I liked the fact that there were three ordinary lights wired in above the lounge, again enhancing the sense of reality.   Props were suitable and worked well to further the action – sometimes in surprising ways, for example Idris’s surgical collar and Gran’s tarot cards.  The costumes suited the characters very well, especially for Maisie in her bright orange!  Just occasionally there were small hitches in the flow of the play.  However, it was the sensitive writing and the believable playing out of the comedy situations that gave this production its humour and liveliness.  The energy from each actor also suited their character very well and provided good contrasts throughout the play as listed below: 

Gran:  she was very well portrayed as a shrewd “speak it as it is” character with no airs and graces and with a rich choice of language.   Excellent facial expression, timing and body-language.  A believable and humorous portrait of an elderly family woman making her presence felt despite her restricted lifestyle.

Tracy:  was portrayed as a calm and logical character with great determination.  Good interaction with Elsie and Gran when announcing the pregnancy - and also with Bobby, who she insisted was going to marry her. She had also decided that he must be the one to tell Idris.  A good characterisation of a resolute but warm personality.

Elsie:  she well portrayed as the hub of the family, phlegmatically accepting Idris’s foibles and purposefully keeping Gran always upstairs.  There could perhaps have been a little more friction between her and Tracy over the pregnancy, but overall this was a believable characterisation.  Good volume differentiation between shouting to Gran “upstairs” and conversing normally with characters “downstairs” and good timing of entries and delivery of the lines.

Maisie: was portrayed as a very funny “in your face” character, lively and energetic and with great comedic talent, particularly when drunk in the “wedding night” scene.   Good movement and great interaction with the other characters, especially when trying to seduce Idris.  Perfect delivery of the hilarious final line.  An excellent performance.

Jeffrey:   This was a good portrayal of a silent character, who nevertheless conveyed an impression of protectiveness towards his mother, while also being absorbed in his knitting.  Very expressive facial expression, body-language and very good stage presence.

Idris:  Well portrayed as a self-obsessed hypochondriac whose life was ruled by panic.  Perhaps, though, there could have been a little more contrast between the mental panic caused by his health fears and the different panic caused by the need to resist Maisie’s advances.  Throughout the play there was very good interaction with the other characters and the conversations at cross-purposes brought about much black humour.  A good performance.

Bobby:  a good portrayal of a straightforward, rather taciturn young man with a large purple earing, resigned to his fate and agreeing to marry Tracy.  His unsuccessful attempts to explain this to Idris - and their misunderstandings - were humorous and well played.  A believable characterisation.

Altogether this was a lively production that was full of humour, comedic situations and a lovely sense of the characters personalities.  Despite the hitches in flow, there was a good energy throughout the production that was well maintained.  There was a very good rapport between the characters in their believable relationships - and the ending was totally unexpected!  Congratulations on a really fun evening!

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.