Of the seventy plus plays written by Alan Ayckbourn, ‘Confusions’ can be classed as one of his early works, and is still a relatively popular choice for smaller theatres, though not as widely performed as the likes of say ‘Bedroom Farce’ or Absurd Person Singular.’ Droylsden Little Theatre did full justice to this play which is actually five one-act plays, quite different from each other in both setting and characters but bound together by a common exploration of people’s foibles, the chaos of relationships and the need for companionship.
‘Confusions’ was written in 1974 and whilst many elements of the human condition never change, the play is certainly a time-piece, in which the male attitudes to women in particular looked extremely dated, with old-fashioned stereotypical images of the housebound housewife and men’s position as the sole breadwinner. Imagine a man trying to chat up a woman up today by marvelling at how liberated females are?
Droylsden Little Theatre did an excellent job of presenting the five different scenes of a domestic house, a restaurant, a hotel bar, a village fete and a park, with just the right of amount of furniture and props to create a convincing atmosphere whilst still being effectively minimalist in style.
This play demanded a high level of acting ability from the cast because to work effectively, each cast member was required to play several very different characters from contrasting backgrounds. Amy Evans appeared in all five plays, from an over-maternal mother in a dressing gown, to a sophisticated wealthy diner to a leather-jacketed goth (complete with black lipstick), convincingly giving life to each role. Claire White also appeared in each scene, with Ayckbourn have made each of her characters, in varied ways, effectively ‘the straight man’, against which other characters sparked off their eccentricities. This is not to downplay the important of her roles; would Eric Morecombe have been nearly so funny without Ernie Wise to act against?
Keith Thompson was very funny as a hapless waiter struggling to do his job in the face of increasing antagonism, amongst his customers. He was also well cast as the manager of a village fate, trying to keep everything together in the face of mayhem. The funniest performance of the night was however almost certainly Dale Nugent’s role as a salesman getting progressively drunk whilst displaying a Basil Fawltyesque failure to recognise his own failings and how he was actually viewed by others. In his next role as an uptight businessman in a restaurant, it was hard to believe it was the same actor and he later gave an amusing portrayal of a vicar (albeit in the form of another outdated 60’s/70’s cliché from another age).
Credit must also be given to Damien Frendo for some very varied presentations, from an alpha-male husband who liked to think he was in control of everything to a very nerdy jobsworth out to dinner in a restaurant. Should DLT every decide to put on ‘Allo Allo’, they have a perfect casting choice here for Crabtree the policeman!
Amanda Kenyon did an excellent job in her directorial debut with this production, getting the actors working together in close harmony, whilst using the generous stage area to good effect. The transition between scene was also noticeably very smoothly executed. Credit should also be given to Drolysden Little Theatre itself which is something of a hidden gem, offering wide, comfortable seating and a very pleasant (and spacious) bar whilst clearly having excellent technical facilities and a big stage. This was a very consummate production from an enthusiastic and creative theatre.
Reviewer - John Waterhouse
On - 16.05.2025
No comments:
Post a Comment