How The Other Half Loves

I always enjoy making the relatively short journey from my hometown of Stone in Staffordshire across the county border into Shropshire, especially when it’s at the kind invitation of Shawbury Village Players to report on their latest production. On this occasion, the company were presenting Alan Ayckbourn’s classic farce ‘How The Other Half Loves’, a play whose ingenious structure and sharply drawn characters have delighted audiences for decades and remains a firm favourite with both amateur and professional theatre companies.

First presented in the round at the Library Theatre in Scarborough in 1969 and making its London West End Premiere a year later, ‘How The Other Half Loves’ remains one of Ayckbourn’s most enduring and ingeniously constructed farces. Set around the overlapping domestic relationships of three pretty ordinary couples whose husbands all work for the same company, the play follows the consequences of an ill-judged affair and the elaborate web of shenanigans devised to conceal it.

The three couples - Frank and Fiona Foster, Bob and Teresa Phillips, and William and Mary Featherstone - are as different as chalk and cheese. The well-to-do Frank, a company owner, and Fiona have a polite and emotionally distant relationship, while Fiona is in a secret ill-judged affair with Frank's employee Bob, whose marriage to Teresa is more than a little stormy. She feels neglected by him, and her suspicions about his infidelity are heightened by a series of mysterious phone calls. As the plot thickens, their fabricated stories trigger a chain of hilarious conflicts, misunderstandings and revelations.

‘How The Other Half Loves’ is a work that demands precision, pace and a keen understanding of Ayckbourn’s comic genius, making it an exciting choice for any group confident in their ability to navigate its split‑stage chaos and finely tuned humour. The perfect choice then for Shawbury Village Players who have long demonstrated a flair for delivering finely crafted comedy, and there was a clear sense of excitement among fellow audience members as I took my seat to see how they would interpret this Ayckbourn epic in their latest production.

As the curtains opened, we were presented with a brilliantly designed composite set that seamlessly combined the living rooms of both the Fosters and the Phillips, allowing the two households to co‑exist within the same physical space. The contrast between them was immediately apparent - on stage left, the Fosters’ sophisticated décor and smart period‑style reproduction furnishings and on stage right, the Phillips’ more modern look with a fashionable three‑seater leather sofa and practical, unfussy fixtures.

Alternate patterns of wallpaper, perfectly in late sixties/early seventies vogue with bright colours and retro geometric designs, further enriched the visual impact. Two telephones positioned together on a small table at the front of the stage - a blue vintage rotary dial model for the Fosters and an exciting new ‘Trimphone’ for the Phillips - added an extra flourish of period authenticity, enhancing the era not only in look but in sound.

Typical of Ayckbourn’s imaginative stagecraft, the concept initially appeared almost too clever to be practical, prompting a moment of hesitation as we wondered how such an overlapping arrangement could sustain the demands of farce. But as the scenes began to unfold, the ‘two homes in one’ design revealed its full brilliance, allowing conversations and domestic routines to collide with crisp comic and simultaneous precision whilst maintaining absolute clarity for the audience.

First on stage was Fiona Foster who quickly set the tone for the fun and frolics that were soon to follow, her eagerness to get to the phone to call Bob after their late-night peccadillo, quickly establishing both her impatience and the precariousness of her situation. Now standing side by side with Teresa, who answered the Foster’s trimphone, she quickly put her phone down and moved upstage, straightaway cleverly showing how the characters in their different rooms would often stand or pass extremely close without ever acknowledging or touching one another.

As Fiona, Frank’s elegant yet increasingly disenchanted wife, Angela Bray projected a wonderfully self‑assured upper‑class sophistication, cleverly masking her boredom with marital life beneath the polished composure of a perfect wife and hostess. Her ability to conceal a guilty conscience over her affair with Bob was smartly handled with subtle changes in expression and tone cleverly showing the tension between her outward refinement and inner turmoil.

In total contrast, as Teresa, Bob’s exhausted, intense and increasingly overwhelmed wife, Emily Jones delivered another finely judged performance. Frantic and overworked while juggling the demands of young baby Benjamin, she clung to her dream of becoming a successful writer, despite possessing absolutely none of the organisational skills required to run a home. Emily captured this chaotic blend of aspiration and frustration with great comic precision.

In the role of Frank Foster, Nick English portrayed the comfortably wealthy company boss with great skill. A touch absent‑minded and completely oblivious to his wife’s infidelity, he made his initial entrance through the audience, dressed in white shorts and top after his morning run, immediately setting the comic tone as he continued his exercises on stage. Later in the piece and transformed into the quintessential city gent in black suit and bowler hat, he gave the impression of a man who undoubtedly ran a tight ship in business but was far less capable in domestic matters, a contrast played with warmth and gentle humour, making Frank both endearing and unintentionally exasperating.

As Bob Phillips, Josh Rawlinson‑Smith delivered an excellent portrayal of the confident, working‑class employee whose easy charm was undercut by a clear streak of selfishness. His ongoing affair with Fiona and increasingly frantic attempts to cover his tracks grew more desperate as the lies multiplied which gave his performance a wonderfully escalating comic tension. Bob’s bluster, impatience and quick temper provided a sharp and highly effective contrast to Frank’s courtesy, creating a strong balance we all enjoyed.

Will Shields delivered another superb performance as William Featherstone, the mild‑mannered and rather anxious employee who becomes an unwitting pawn in Bob and Fiona’s deception, His nervous disposition and eagerness to please made him highly susceptible to manipulation, and his valiant attempts to navigate the conflicting stories he was fed resulted in some of the play’s funniest moments. I particularly enjoyed his brave efforts to impress his boss by undertaking the odd spot of DIY with some of the most impractical tools that further highlighted William’s desperate desire to be helpful.

As Mary Featherstone, William’s awkward and painfully shy wife, Jennie Dunn was hilarious in her valiant attempts to maintain polite conversation and often collapsing into nervous rambling as she struggled to process the conflicting accounts she inadvertently overheard. Her wide‑eyed bewilderment added beautifully to the escalating confusion, and there was a touching innocence and vulnerability in her performance that made Mary a deeply sympathetic figure amid the chaos. Another excellent contribution to an evening of first class entertainment.

To enhance the overall staging of the play, the lighting had been carefully plotted and worked well as did the music chosen for the introduction to each act and two intervals which featured some of my favourite tracks of the period including ‘Pretty Woman’, ‘Build Me Up Buttercup’ and ‘Happy Together’. The authentic tones of the two telephones were also perfect and always rang/trilled on cue. A huge well done to Grace Jackson who was in total control of the lighting, sound and SFX.

Lisa Palmer must be congratulated for the outstandingly brilliant set design. The stage was managed by Trev and Viv Wooton assisted by Callum Jinks.

The costumes were managed by Chris Fraser and Jennie Dunn and were all of excellent quality and in perfect early seventies vogue. Not that I think she was ever needed, Peta Smith was the prompt.

But my final comments - and undoubtedly the most important - must go to Director Richard Bray and Producer Peta Smith, whose vision, talent and sheer professionalism elevated this production to an outstanding standard of theatrical excellence. Their leadership and skills shaped every element with clarity and purpose, resulting in a staging that was both impressively crafted and hugely entertaining.

Thank you once again for your kind hospitality and warm welcome. I’m already looking forward to visiting you for your annual pantomime ‘Alice In Wonderland’ at the start of 2027.

Chris C Bell
Regional Representative
NODA West Midlands District 2

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