BEDROOM FARCE | THE MILL AT SONNING, READING
★★★★
“Timeless comedy of manners…”
Three bedrooms, four couples, a leaky ceiling, a slipped disc, some DIY and one volatile relationship that impacts on the everyday suburban routines of those who find themselves drawn into it.
Elderly couple Ernest and Delia just want to celebrate their wedding anniversary in peace. Malcolm and Kate are looking forward to throwing a housewarming party. Newly engaged Jan and Nick, meanwhile, find commitment issues raising their ugly head when the latter finds himself confined to bed with a bad back… Enter Trevor and Susannah, unhappily married and leaving chaos in their path as, over one night, they share their troubles in an ever more farcical cascade of comic encounters.
Penned by Alan Ayckbourn in 1975, Bedroom Farce had a London production at the National Theatre in 1977, transferring London’s West End two years later. For all that they are, all on the whole, Seventies’ tropes (there’s even a mention of the GPO, if you know, you know), Ayckbourn’s characters are also instantly recognisable and though the odd line may have aged badly, the majority still land with the comedic impact intended all those years ago.
Of its time yet timeless, this comedy of manners and mating does exactly as the title says, it starts with titter-worthy gentle observations on life, class and relationships, building to absurd, outrageous and downright belly laugh inducing confusion, misunderstandings and mania.
Julia Hills and Stuart Fox provide the backbone of the production as Delia and Ernest, with pitch perfect performances they are priceless. To hilarious effect, they capture the bewilderment of finding themselves in the eye of the storm that is son Trevor and daughter-in-law Susannah’s disastrous marriage, while all the time toying with the minutiae of middle-class living. Sardines on toast anyone?
Strong support comes from Rhiannon Handy and Antony Eden who bring a playful physicality and warmth to Kate and Malcolm, while Georgia Burnell and Damien Matthews, as Jan and Nick, wonderfully waspish sniping is a delight. Creating the havoc, however, its Ben Porter’s eminently likeable Trevor, a man who has never grown up, that drives the narrative, ensuring the pace never drops as Allie Coker, as Susannah, grows ever more neurotic and over the top.
All are nicely observed caricatures born of Ayckbourn’s words and director Robin Herford’s astute scene-building.
as Susannah & Trevor
as Kate & Susannah
as Malcolm & Trevor
A great night out, there’s something affable and comforting about this production of Bedroom Farce that makes it the perfect fit for The Mill At Sonning, a quite glorious gem of a theatre that really needs to be on you Must See Theatre list.
Bedroom Farce runs at The Mill At Sonning until 21 September. Tickets here.
