Catherine Bennett resumes the weekly look at the performing arts world, with the sad end of Jerusalem, the luck of a cabbie, and French revolt. Do you hear the people sing?
Adam Alcock reviews Nigel Kennedy playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons and his own Four Elements at York Opera House.
Catherine Bennett highlights the trends in the performing arts world today.
Jonathan Cridford reviews 'Ghosts', one of the Freshers' plays for this year.
I make no bones about the fact that I like neither farce nor Alan Ayckbourn. '3 Beds, 4 Couples, 1 Night.' Could you really fit all that in to a night in the Drama Barn, I thought? Needless to say, then, I was very pleasantly surprised by Polly Ingham and Alice Bushell's production of Bedroom Farce.
Farce is a tricky medium and can easily leave you uncomfortable; if lines slip, if gags fall, if the pace is dragging around your ankles. But throughout the entire show I felt at home and happy to laugh, and indeed, laughed frequently.
The barn was well decked out. The amount of furniture didn't feel crowded and each scenario occupied its own space, leaving us clear as to geographically where the action was taking place. Scene changes were swiftly executed and I was relieved that deadening set changes were avoided.
For me, the piece was powered by the four male roles played by Alex Forsyth, Michael Slater, Dan Wood and James Duckworth. Each held a distinctly different character to the other, Duckworth shining as the fuddy-duddy older man. Slater's Barn debut was equally pleasing, his monosyllabic interjections consistently drole. Forsyth's fumbling demeanour was a great variation and played well against Slater.
I fear, however, that the script may favour the male roles but this didn't diminish four good performances from their better halves. Lauren Walters' well rounded character stood out throughout the play and was excellently pitched against Duckworth. The remaining three females were also well performed, and it was great to see some new faces in the barn.
However, the play felt a little as if it had a few false endings. I felt it could have benefited from a pick up in pace here, as although the narrative dictates nightfall at this point, somewhat more action to power through to the end would have kept the quick paced comedy at the fore.
Overall it was a well executed piece, a relaxing and enjoyable night of theatre. Farce will never change the world, but this one had a packed house laughing for two hours, which has a lot to be said for it.
You must log in to submit a comment.
