Alan
Ayckbourn, in Bedroom Farce, has
written another in his series of very funny and insightful farces. A play, of
course, is intended to be seen in order to be fully appreciated, but, as a
playwright myself, I have an interest in reading the scripts.
This
one is staged using three sets that appear together: three bedrooms, which
allow the action of the interrelated couples to indulge in the farce of the
title. However, what could so easily have descended into smut and exploitation
of sexual mores, is instead a complex and well-observed comedy about English
suburban life. Ayckbourn is a superb recorder of the idiosyncrasies of his
family of English characters. He portrays them with love but doesn’t hold back
in showing them for what they are. Often silly, sometimes selfish, frequently
lacking in understanding, but never stereotypical, boring or trite.
He
uses his sets to make points, giving the locations roles that place them as mute
characters on stage to comment silently on the peculiarities, peccadillos, personalities
and preferences of his flesh and blood characters. Imagination permits the
reader to experience the text in much the same way as the theatre-goer might
experience the performance. Though this is not to say that talented actors fail
to raise more and greater laughs from the audience than the reader can develop
from imagination alone.
Should
this play be produced on a stage near me, I shall certainly attend and watch as
the text is brought to life by performers who will undoubtedly enjoy the
experience as much as the audience. And I’d recommend you to do the same. It’s
a play full of laughter for the audience and brimming with under-stated and
sometimes subtle asides at the characters. Well worth the reader’s and the
viewer’s attention.
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