Absurd Person Singular: Fast Paced, Well Acted and Viciously Funny. A Winner
Photo: Andrew Alexander
From top to bottom:
The Brewster-Wrights
The Jacksons
The Hopcrofts
Alan Ayckbourn, the master of British Farce, has certainly inherited the gifts of playwright Georges Feydeau who dominated the French theatre of the middle and upper classes at the turn of the century with his particular form of farce. As the doors slam, the dialogue bristles, split-second timing reigns and the characters enter and exit with the impeccable speed of a well-oiled machine, there is always a social commentary hidden somewhere in this mass of wound up humanity. However, contrary to Feydeau’s farces, this one cares less about who is sleeping with whom, although that does enter into the picture in a most class conscious moment where the “bit on the side” becomes a sign of upper class mobility that excludes the tradesman and his “vulgar” ways.