Touch and Go at the OLT. Good paced staging hits home with this British farce.
Touch and Go. Photo by MAria Vartanova
Those who see the sexual humor in references to coq au vin or dishes of nuts are likely to be amused by Derek Benfield’s 1982 bedroom farce about two adulterous couples busily swapping partners.
The arrangement at the centre of Touch and Go is that George lends his apartment to his friend Brian once a week for a sexual encounter with his current amour, Wendy. While Brian is safely otherwise engaged, George has his own amorous adventure with Brian’s wife, Hilary. Only when George’s wife, Jessica, returns early from a trip to the U.S. and the five meet for dinner does the “perfect” arrangement threaten to unravel.
The Ottawa Little Theatre production, directed by Geoff Gruson, is extremely well choreographed. Entrances and exits are carefully timed to allow characters to miss each other on the two-part set, designed by Tom Pidgeon, as the lighting, designed by John Solman, rises and falls precisely as required.
Despite the predictability of the intentionally silly script, there are some very funny moments, thanks to the careful work of cast and crew. For example, at one point, Jarrod Chambers as the slightly compulsive/obsessive George, outfitted in a dressing gown with a leopard-skin motif, hides by spread-eagling against a leopard-skin wall hanging. In a fine piece of stage business, his second attempt at repeating the hiding-in-full-view is even funnier.
Each of the five performers tries to create some believable reactions and appears to be enjoying the adulterous convolutions of Benfield’s storyline. Venetia Lawless as Jessica, the anchor character, is the most reasonable and effective in introducing a semblance of normality to the musical-beds fiasco.
Those who enjoy British sex farces may find Touch and Go to their taste. For non-farce enthusiasts, discovering more than a touch of humour in the ridiculous, despite the worthiness of the OLT effort, is touch and go.
Touch and Go continues at Ottawa Little Theatre to June 2, 2014.
Touch and Go
By Derek Benfield
Ottawa Little Theatre
Director: Geoff Gruson
Set: Tom Pidgeon
Lighting: John Solman
Sound: Andrew Hamlin
Costumes: Joan Sullivan Eady
Cast:
Wendy………………………………………………Kelly Fuoco
Brian………………………………………………..Josh Sparks
Hilary………………………………………………Jane Morris
George……………………………………………..Jarrod Chambers
Jessica……………………………………………..Venetia Lawless