HOW THE OTHER HALF LOVES. To 13 October.

Bath

HOW THE OTHER HALF LOVES
by Alan Ayckbourn.

Theatre Royal In rep to 25 August.
17, 18, 20, 22-25 Aug 7.30pm Mat 16, 23 Aug 2.30pm.
then Tour to 13 October 2007.
Runs 2hr 40min One interval

TICKETS: 01225 448844.
Review: Timothy Ramsden 15 August.

How the rest of us laugh, much of the time.
I’d expected this major production to outclass Oldham Coliseum’s production from four months ago. But despite the frequent amusement and passages of hilarity in Alan Strachan’s production (his second) of Ayckbourn’s 1969 comedy, honours are not so clear among the acting, owing to a languid element in Bath's first half (how much better the other half works). Marsha Fitzalan’s Fiona, boss’s wife having a fling with one of his executives, declines increasingly into affluent housewife mannerisms, while her unofficial other half Bob is played lager-loutishly by Richard Stacey, risking his share of the sympathy each character needs. No wonder wife Teresa keeps leaving him.

It’s hard, though not impossible, to believe Stacey’s Bob would let himself be thrashed by mild-seeming William Featherstone. The Featherstones, blank slates on which the others transfer their guilt and suspicions, appear rightly colourless and wrongly one-dimensional.

There’s none of the humour in William’s relationship-defining taps to his mousy wife’s wrists that Rob Swain’s Oldham production found. Nor does the crucial moment where Mary knows just how far to go in obtaining William’s apology register, as Alison Burrows made it at the Coliseum.

But Bath’s production in the 2007 Peter Hall Season includes two excellent performances. Company boss Frank becomes a study in the self-absorption of someone used to calling the shots in Nicholas Le Prevost’s hilarious performance, whether in his ineptitude with simple gadgets or organising a meeting at home like a board-meeting that can’t go ahead unless he has his designated chair.

And Claudia Elmhirst has a natural manner as a young woman who’s not translated from student activism to domestic routine. Washed out with looking after baby, overwhelmed by household routines, she retains a mental sharpness.

Strachan can be overfond of pushing to extremes Ayckbourn’s famous staging device (both homes sharing the stage, with simultaneous action). And Paul Farnsworth’s set, mixing two standards of living in architecture and décor, can seem overbearing for a play designed to work in the round. But if it’s not quite the experience that might have been hoped, Le Prevost, Elmhirst – and Ayckbourn – ensure the evening doesn’t disappoint.

Frank Foster: Nicholas Le Prevost.
Fiona Foster: Marsha Fitzalan.
Bob Phillips: Richard Stacey.
Teresa Phillips: Claudia Elmhirst.
William Featherstone: Paul Kemp.
Mary Featherstone: Amanda Royle.

Director: Alan Strachan.
Designer: Paul Farnsworth.
Lighting: Jason Taylor.
Sound: Gregory Clarke.

Tour:
27 Aug-1 Sept 8pm Mat Wed & Sat 2.30pm Malvern Festival Theatre 01684 892277
10-15 Sept 7.45pm Mat Thu & Sat 2.30pm Cambridge Arts Theatre 01223 503333
17-22 Sept 7.30pm Mat Thu & Sat 2.30pm Clwyd Theatr Cymru Mold 0845 330 3565
24-29 Sept 7.30pm MatWed & Sat 2.30pm King’s Theatre Edinburgh 0131 529 6000
1-6 Oct Mon-Thu 7.45pm Fri-Sat 8pm Mat Thu & Sat 2.30pm Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Guildford 01483 440000
8-13 Oct 8pm Mat Thu 2.30pm Sat 4.45pm Theatre Royal Windsor 01753 853888

2007-08-16 12:20:02