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- As the play begins, Malcolm and Kate are
preparing for a housewarming party in their new flat. Jan is
preparing to come, but without Nick, who is laid up with a
back problem and whose dialogue consists almost exclusively of groans
and plaintive wails of “Why me?” And Ernest and Delia, who are
Trevor’s parents, are preparing to go to dinner to celebrate their
umpteenth wedding anniversary.
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- Trevor and Susannah have a troubled
marriage, which might be partially explained by the mantra that she
repeats obsessively: “I’m attractive! And I’m not afraid of
people!” When she and Trevor arrive at the party---separately---they
begin fighting immediately, and so viciously that all the other party
guests go home.
-
- Trevor and Jan have had a previous
relationship and they eventually wind up in an impulsive and
passionate kiss that the consistently overwrought Susannah
oversees. More screaming.
-
- And so it goes. The play, ostensibly, is
about how four different couples handle marriage, with Ernest and
Delia, the elderly couple, providing the template for successful
companionship. Delia is full of wisdom, giving her daughter-in-law
Susannah pithy bits of advice, like “Don’t tell him anything you don’t
have to,” and “Keep him well fed and his clothes clean.”
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- The play is too improbably farcical to be
all that funny, but it might be more amusing if played well. The
younger actors, however, are uniformly screechy, with everyone
continually exhibiting unmodified hysteria. With a little less volume
and more moderate pacing, more variety in delivery, the humor, such as
it is, might have been better received. As it stands now, only Ernest
and Delia and the bedridden Nick do justice to their
roles. And, unfortunately, director Ron Bottitta doesn’t do justice
to his.
-
- And finally, you get a clue that there is
something wrong with a comedy when the funniest things in it are the
vintage ‘70s outfits put together by costume designer Kathryn Poppen.
-
- Alan Ayckbourn’s “Bedroom Farce” will
continue at the Odyssey Theatre, 2055 South Sepulveda Blvd. in West
Los Angeles, Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2
through September 26, 2010. Call (310) 477-2055 for reservations.
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