Relatively Speaking

Relatively Speaking
Carlton Players
5/2/2020
Sexual attitudes might have undergone massive changes in the 50-odd years since Alan Ayckbourn scored his first major hit with Relatively Speaking, but the play remains a crowd-pleaser. Relatively Speaking is a masterpiece of comic construction and, if it seems slightly dated at times, you barely notice in Carlton Players cracking production.
It helps that the performances are excellent. Fiona Williams brings just the right mix of innocence and experience to girl-about-town Ginny and her eager-to-please, over-anxious boyfriend Greg is flawlessly played by Dylan James. Even this early in his career, Alan Ayckbourn showed that he could conjure laughter out of marital misery. 
Ginny and Greg are lovers. It's early in the morning when we first meet them in Ginny's bed-sit in London. Which is perfect for the era, a nice touch is a Beatles poster on the wall. Greg is still in bed and Ginny is getting ready to catch a train, supposedly so she can travel out of town to see her parents. The phone rings, but when Greg answers it the caller hangs up. And Greg finds other things don't seem quite right in Ginny's tiny living-space. There are bunches of flowers everywhere and 'petals in the kettle', he discovers man-sized slippers under the bed and, later, a package arrives which turns out to be chocolates. Confused and suspicious Greg is nonetheless enamoured enough to want to marry Ginny and when she leaves for her parents' house, he decides to follow and put the marital proposition to her parents. However, Ginny is not visiting her parents. She has been having an affair with Phillip her ex-boss who is an older, married man, she intends visiting him at his home in Buckinghamshire in order to finally break-off the romance once and for all. But Greg gets to the house before Ginny, meets Philip's wife Sheila, and from thereon in a series of misunderstandings ensue. Mistaken identities abound and the fun comes from watching pennies drop as realisations dawn on each character. The humour may be contrived, but it actually proves infectiously irresistible because the misunderstandings we witness are so intelligently and meticulously constructed. Dylan James is outstanding as the innocent Greg, his scenes with the talented Kate as Sheila are truly outstanding. His depiction of the unsophisticated young man, who thinks he is meeting with his future mother in law is simply stunning.  An exceptional performance from Dylan.
The opening exchanges between the petulant Philip ("I can't say I'm very taken with this marmalade") and his wife Sheila are hilarious. The scene is set in their garden at the ‘Willows’ a very impressive and imposing set, winning well-deserved admiration from the audience. Congratulations go to the set building team of Pam Buckle, Gareth Crawshaw, Brian Dickson, Nick Fawdry, Steve Jones, Malcom Leach and Les West., Well done to all.

Kate Downes provides a flawless and captivating portrayal of the dutiful housewife Sheila who has to endure her husband's belligerent criticisms, even if she suggests she knows more about his dalliances, than he might suspect. Sheila counters her husband’s infidelity by creating her own imagined lover. Sheila (Kate) looks genuinely wounded at Philip's revelation that he's planning a 10-day European business-trip. Kate scoops up a lot of the laughs, her utter bewilderment at the arrival of Greg and Ginny is brilliantly done. This was a stunning performance by Kate.
Praise must go to Elizabeth Youster for the 1960’s costumes they were spot on. In particular the ladies dresses were perfect, Sheila was very reminiscent of ‘Margo’ from The Good Life’. 
 Alan Kenny as Philip is a self-centred, pugnacious man who devotes more energy and effort to his gardening than his relationship with his wife. Alan's questioning dialogue with the bewildered Gregg relating the number of men his wife has had in her life was brilliantly done by both men. Fine performances here.  There is one astonishing scene when Philip and Sheila, talking entirely at cross-purposes about Ginny's married lover, reveal the depths of their own antagonism. The comedy is so clever and the laughter so frequent that it is only at the end that one realises quite what a monster the philandering husband is...Brilliantly witty comedy well delivered by an extremely talented cast.
Congratulations Carlton Players on a fine performance a truly entertaining evening. I look forward to the next production.
Joanne Rymer
NODA

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