RELATIVELY SPEAKING. To 22 March.

Exeter/Basingstoke

RELATIVELY SPEAKING
by Alan Ayckbourn

Northcott Theatre To 1 March then Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke 5-22 March 2003
Runs 2hr One interval

TICKETS 01392 493493 (Exeter)
01256 465566 (Basingstoke)
Review Hazel Brown 11 February

Hilarious comedy of misunderstandings and deceptions.Alan Ayckbourn’s hit comedy from the sixties still raises many laughs and proves its comic credentials as misunderstandings and deceptions pile up throughout the course of the play.

In a gloriously hideous flat, young lovers Greg and Ginny prepare for a Sunday apart. Ginny maintains that she is getting ready to visit her parents in the country, but refuses to take Greg with her.

Greg’s suspicions about what is going on are aroused by mysterious quantities of flowers and boxes of chocolates in the flat, as well as mysterious phone calls. He decides to follow her in order to meet his prospective in-laws.

Meanwhile, Philip, played with repressed relish by Granville Saxton, and Sheila, a dizzy and charming performance from Eileen Battye, are a middle aged couple in middle England, breakfasting in their glorious suburban garden. The scene change is dramatic - the second set eliciting a round of applause. Philip is trying, unsuccessfully from behind his Sunday Times, to find out whether or not Sheila is having an affair.

Ayckbourn extracts the maximum humour from the Englishman’s (and woman’s) reticence and inability to communicate emotionally or even clearly. As the two couples come together over Sunday lunch, the deceits and misconceptions attain consummate comic proportions. The actors’ timing is meticulous. Granville Saxton moves seamlessly from suspicious husband to middle aged Lothario to embarrassing father, matched by Eileen Battye, sleek in twin set and pearls, reminding me of Susan Hampshire at her most charming and fey.

Kitty Lucas pouts prettily and Greg Powrie, as the play's catalyst, engenders sympathy despite the dreadful wig. With the wonderful sets plus costumes and music strongly evocative of the heady, happy days of the sixties, this is an evening of good, entertaining theatre.

Greg: Greg Powrie
Ginny: Kitty Lucas
Philip: Granville Saxton
Sheila: Eileen Battye

Director: Richard Baron
Designer: Edward Lipscomb
Lighting: Ben Grashoff

2003-02-14 01:58:57