Key for Two

This play had multiple elements of many a successful farce.  A bedroom scene,  Harriet - a lady with two partners who should know nothing of each other and definitely never meet - and of course someone must appear without his trousers.  Written by John Chapman and Dave Freeman it was to be hoped that every chance for some fun would be taken and it was.

The first Act sets the scene explaining how Harriet funds her flat and her lifestyle by being the mistress of two men.   The pace of this scene is a little slower preparing for the chaos that ensues in Act Two. That is when the full humour of the situation takes hold and laughter was frequently heard from the audience.  A friend of Harriet's turns up and can hardly believe the situation but she takes the opportunity of cosying up to one of the lovers.  The wives then begin to arrive.  They must not know what is going on so an elaborate story that the apartment is in fact a nursing home is concocted.  In the meantime Gordon, the younger of the lovers, slips on a fish in the kitchen and is confined to bed with an ankle injury.  And then the husband of the friend arrives, very drunk.

Harriet is on stage throughout the play with a lot of dialogue for the actress to learn and interpret.  She took the character on the journey from calm and organised to frantically inventing crazy explanations as to why the various people were in her apartment.  This was done with understanding and skill.

The two lovers are very different from each other.  Gordon is a smart young man with a wife he finds exasperating and hard work and Alec is a rougher businessman who clearly wants a more interesting relationship than he has at home.  The contrast between the two men was very well drawn.  The young man was relentlessly petulant and demanding.    Alec is a burly, uninhibited Yorkshireman.  It is he who appears without the trousers.  The north country accent was held consistently by Alec,  with lots of humour.  

Anne arrives from New Zealand unexpectedly.  She is a long-time friend of Harriet.  After the initial shock and disbelief, she seems happy to accept her friend's bizarre way of life.  Then she begins to bite back making pointed remarks and appearing to steal one of the lovers for herself.  The changing relationship was played well with truth and understanding.

 In Act Two Richard appears,  the estranged husband of Anne.  He is very drunk.  Always very difficult to play a drunk and Richard is extremely drunk. The actor must have studied the mannerisms and bizarre reactions of someone in their cups.  It is only funny if it is taken to the edge and not over.  This performance was very well delivered adding much to the mirth of the situation.

The story would not be complete without the arrival of the wives.  Mildred, Alec's wife is bossy and controlling. This was played strongly and it was easy to understand why Alec looked for affection elsewhere. Richard's wife Magda was played by the young actress who played Jessica in A Bunch of Amateurs last year.  This was a very different character to play.  All the mannerisms of an obsessive wife were demonstrated and held consistently.   The characterisation was impressive. A superb performance.

The casting for this play was very good with the strengths of each actor being employed well.  The actors became their character and relationships with each other were apparent.  The humour was understood and the timing was good.   Diction was clear and the dialogue easy to follow including when an accent or an unusual way of speaking was employed.

CODS performs in a spacious school hall.  There are no front tabs so the stage is open when the audience take their seats.  We have come to expect an attractive set from this society but this was especially so.  It depicted the well-appointed and comfortable apartment which Harriet was able to maintain as a result of her interesting lifestyle.  As seems to be the case with a farce there were a number of exits.  To the bathroom, the hall, the hallway to the second bedroom, a  doorway to the main bedroom and the kitchen.   The interior of the kitchen was visible to the audience and used by  members of the cast to make tea, prepare a meal and so on and is where Gordon slips on a fish that had fallen to the floor,  but the kitchen was in darkness.  A small point and easy to overlook when time is short to set the stage.

Good use was made of the stage in a natural way.  Scene changes were short and the story was able to flow well.  

The costumes were right for the characters and the situation.  Any dressing/undressing on stage happened in a natural manner.  I would guess that this had been part of the rehearsal routine for a little while.

The lighting was good. There were a number of sound effects, toilets flushing, doorbells,  phones ringing and so on.  All worked well and added to the feeling of reality and humour.

Thank you CODS for giving your audience a very entertaining evening. 

 

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