The Open Couple

A warm welcome greeted us on this cold Saturday evening which had come at the end of one of the coldest and snowiest weeks most people could remember.  The gradual thaw meant that a decent sized audience was able to attend this opening night, and the society could breathe a sigh of relief that, following a turbulent few months of dealing with production problems, Judy Curry’s directorial debut could go ahead.

This being a one act play the society had arranged for the evening to commence with some musical entertainment by two members of covers band REV 2.  This was followed by a delicious ploughman’s supper served during the interval, after which we all settled down for the main event. 

The Open Couple by Dario Fo and Franca Rame was new to me.  It is based around a conversation between a husband and wife about open marriage. We enter when the wife is threatening to commit suicide due to her husband’s dalliances and he is desperately trying to persuade her that unfaithfulness is politically correct.  

Although about serious issues the play is full of excellent humour, none more so than when the actors speak to the audience in an effort to get us to see things from their point of view. At one point during the play the wife tells us that her son persuaded her to have an affair.  This would appear to be out of character, so what are we to believe? The twists and turns of the narrative make it difficult to ascertain the truth and we are left to wonder until the very end.

Nettie Hayes gave a terrific performance as the wife.  The role was top heavy with dialogue and her delivery throughout was superb. A great performance also from Peter Clyne as the husband, trying to explain away his indiscretions and at the same time repeatedly telling his wife how much he loves her.  The realisation however that she too may have taken a lover appears to be almost too much for him to bear. The play is essentially a two hander, with one exception. A brief but effective appearance by Tudor Owen.

The action takes place in an apartment, but here we had an almost bare stage with just two low tables, one of which acted as a windowsill from which both husband and wife, at varying points, threatened to jump, and smaller props appeared from the wings, as and when required. This scaling back on scenery enabled the audience to immerse themselves in the dialogue without distraction and worked well, as did a door at audience level leading out of the auditorium, which doubled as the bathroom door.

This was a very enjoyable production and one that director Judy Curry and everyone else involved can be justifiably proud of.

Thank you for inviting me.

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