IF I WERE YOU. To 10 March.
Tour.
IF I WERE YOU
by Alan Ayckbourn.
Tour To 10 March 2007.
Runs 2hr 15min One interval.
Review: Timothy Ramsden 6 February at Oxford Playhouse.
Like his central characters, the playwright seems to be having an off day.
Alan Ayckbourn takes his title literally, as husband and wife Mal and Jill Rodale wake-up one morning to find they’re in each others’ bodies. It’s a situation full of possibilities. The Rodales’ teenage son Sam wonders what’s happened when the physical semblance of Dad begins dusting and caring, while ‘mum’ starts shouting and swearing. Married daughter Chrissie receives the unexpected support of a suddenly firm hand when ‘mum’ finds out about the secrets of her marital situation. But the question of what makes a person who they are is barely touched upon.
Though there are humorous moments in the second act, the first act is a mere lead-in to the body-swap, with very little interest in itself. And the Rodales are simplistic suburban clichés.
Grunting, throat-clearing, aggressive Mal bullies staff at work, where he’s also rude to awkward customers; outside, he’s all drinks with the lads and football. Dean, who greets other males with play-punches rather than a handshake, is his ideal son-in-law. Mal’s in thrall only to his appetites, including unseen bit-on-the-side Trixie. His sonSam’s fondness for Shakespeare makes his dad anxious and angry. Jill, meanwhile’s a stay-at-home depressive, daughter Chrissie the same in the making.
The unexplained body-reversals provide opportunities Lisa Goddard, particularly, and Terence Booth, exploit to the comic full, Booth filling-in for an indisposed John Branwell. Branwell’s balance of ire and vulnerability is probably ideal for the role, yet there’s no sense of loss with Booth’s more thoroughgoing bullishness.
But the obviousness, and need to replay a normal, act one, day in the new physical format, means there’s zero sense of dramatic exploration or adventure. A half-hour sitcom maybe, but there’s too little here or a play. Especially an Ayckbourn play.
Perhaps it’s unreasonable to expect too much of a playwright who’s overseen a revival of his 8-part Intimate Exchanges and recovered from a stroke during the past year. But the playwright approached a similar idea years ago in Body Language, one of his least successful plays. He’s known for going back and re-exploring territory used before. This is probably one area best left untouched.
Mal Rodale: John Branwell/Terence Both.
Jill Rodale: Liza Goddard.
Chrissie Snaith: Saskia Butler.
Sam Rodale: Dominic Hecht.
Dean Snaith: Richard Stacey.
Director: Alan Ayckbourn.
Designer: Roger Glossop.
Lighting: Mick Hughes.
Costume: Jennie Boyer.
Assistant director: Joe Douglas.
2007-02-07 12:03:01