‘Say Who You Are’ is something of a curiosity, not so much because of what it is but more as to who wrote it. The play is a timepiece of the 1960s, with shenanigans and affairs set against the rapidly-changing social norms of the time and communications being more by public call box to a house with a single connection rather than discreet mobile-to-mobile. Everything about the style and subject matter smacks of an early Ayckbourn or perhaps even a Ray Cooney but this is actually a work of Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, both of whom are more associated with satire or more serious works.
Purporting to be simply a light-hearted comedy, ‘Say Who You Are’ is an honest play, amply delivering what it says on the packet. That said, there are some interesting and original twists and while at times it gets close, the play never descends into farce; this is definitely not a ‘Whitehall Comedy’ and as a result is perhaps less dated as well as being frequently very funny.
Altrincham Little Theatre certainly set the scene well with an Ayckbournesque split-set, comprised of a modern, arty flat and a Victorian-style pub, notable for no less than six difference entrances. A representation of a traditional red phone box was worthy of special mention (given pride of place, downstage right) as was a very convincing lift. Even the well-stocked drinks cabinet had received considerable attention to detail, complete with soda-syphon. The open split-set allowed for rapid, seamless transitions between scenes so that no light-dimming or interim music was required, helping to give the feel of a fast moving play, almost happening in real time.
The casting was very balanced with Alex Clarke as David and Jane Newman as Sarah making a credible couple, trying to hide inner angsts and passion beneath outward calm and respectability. Bev Stuart-Cole as Valerie was very convincing as an ultra-liberated '60’s woman, right down to the Lulu style hair and mini-dress. Mark Edgar as Stuart seemed a little too straight-laced to truly come over as the adulterous, philandering type but then maybe that was the point; this was a man trying to find solace from what was seemed to be a very mundane marital existence.
To really appreciate ‘Say Who You Are’, in addition to a little suspension of disbelief in relation to some of both the characters' desires and motivations, the audience member needs to try to step back in time. Apart from anything thing else, this was a time when divorce which a much more serious (and less easy) option than would be the case today but it was also an age when people were starting to desire more than the constraints of typical wedlock typically allowed. Of course, people have always had affairs or simply been unfaithful but this decade seemed to ratchet everything up to the point some comedy writers seemed to think this was all that really mattered. Perhaps Waterhouse and Hall were more trying to keep up to date rather than make any kind of social statement. There is certainly little of the layering or sophistication that is present in their much more famous collaboration, 'Billy Liar’.
An entertaining, well-acted piece with some very funny lines and an original take on a familiar set-up. Fast-paced and with a real '60’s atmosphere, a trip to Altrincham Little Theatre to see ‘Say Who You Are’ is heartily recommended. Runs until Saturday 25th May.
Reviewer - John Waterhouse
on - 19/5/19
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