JUST BETWEEN OURSELVES till 13 June
JUST BETWEEN OURSELVES, Alan Ayckbourn
Royal and Derngate, Northampton
Runs: 2h 20m, one interval, to 13 June
www.royalandderngate.co.uk
Review: Ian Spiby, Friday 29 May 2009
An excellent start to the Ayckbourn seasonAyckbourn wrote Just Between Ourselves in 1976 and although it now has a curiously old-fashioned air in terms of its style and structure, what he has to say strikes a resonant chord in 2009.
The author has commented that the play saw him mature as a writer and certainly the comic moments are far outweighed by the darker ones as we witness two married couples’ relationships crack and splinter under the strain of living together. Dennis tinkers endlessly in his garage, leaving his mother, Marjorie to fight for dominance over his mentally-ill wife, Vera. Neil meanwhile, joins Dennis in the garage in order to escape from his responsibilities to his wife, Pam and their baby son.
In many ways it is a bleak evening but it also supplies a rich dramatic experience as we witness the hurt experienced by all the characters (with the exception of Dennis who breezes through life with relentless jolliness).
The actors are uniformly superb, resisting the temptation towards caricature and displaying a sensitivity to Ayckbourn’s many poignant situations. The last scene especially, is almost unbearably painful. By contrast, the humour is played with great verve and gusto, particularly in the big set-piece comic episode at the end of Scene Three.
The atmosphere is helped considerably by Ben Stones’ set: a cluttered garage and a suburban garden complete with cheap fencing and utilitarian garden furniture. The passage of the seasons is conveyed well by small but carefully chosen changes.
The play is perceptively directed by Mark Rosenblatt.
Cast: Vera: Dorothy Atkinson, Pam: Lucy Briars, Neil: Matthew Cottle, Marjorie: Marlene Sidaway, Dennis: Kim Wall
Director: Mark Rosenblatt, Designer: ben Stones, Lighting Designer: James Farncombe, Composer: Olly Fox, Sound Designer: Adrienne Quartly, Casting Director: Kay Magson, Deputy Stage Manager on the Book: Tanith MacKenzie
2009-05-29 14:42:28