Saw this last night at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester. Part of the Intimate Exchanges season, for a number of reasons this was the only one we got to see. Typically Alan Ayckbourn in its themes and humour, in this particular setting the two actors played seven distinct characters. Or, to be more accurate, Ruth Gibson played five and Gynfor Evans just the two.
The play fared well when seen in isolation, but no doubt made even more dramatic impact when seen in the round with the others in the series. As a stand alone, Ayckbourn once again explores how even the tiniest, careless choices we make in our lives can have enormous consequences. Two seemingly unhappily married couples playing with their lives, making choices about how and with whom to live out the remainder of their days. The final scene (the Churchyard scene) appeared a little perfunctory and downbeat but the whole evening was well acted and very well staged (especially given that it was opening night).
I may well have said this before, but I definitely don’t find Ayckbourn as achingly funny as I did twenty five years ago. Is that me or has some of the dialogue simply not aged that well?