|
|
|
|
|
Holly Smith as Vera and Helen Phillips as Pam. Picture: Will Green Photography Just Between Ourselves Derby Theatre *** London Classic Theatre have performed for twenty five years and this is their 49th Uk tour and their third Ayckbourn play. Just Between Ourselves was premiered in 1976, almost a half century ago and hasn’t been toured professionally for fifteen years. One of 91 Aykbourn plays, it certainly deserves a dusting down and re-evaluation. It features five birthdays, two unhappy marriages and one possessive mother as two couple's marriages come under the spotlight and the specific glare of a possessive, domineering mother/mother-in-law, Marjorie. Connie Walker as Marjorie dominates not only the characters, but the play itself. Her son comments that Scorpios (Marjorie’s star sign) are secretive, scheming and devious - a neat character summary as the tale teeters between tragedy and comedy, comedy realised with acute, astute observations on the human condition which are painfully accurate. Tom Richardson (Dennis) is trying to sell a wrecked mini to Joseph Clowser (Neil) whose wife Helen Phillips (Pam) is indifferent to all around. Holly Smith (Vera) is a bigger wreck than the mini. Physically the set by Liz Wright looks a little chaotic yet with lovely touches including swirly orange and brown garden chairs and a floral tea set, it could only be the 1970s. The costuming is gloriously spot on. Voluminous flapping flares, sensible plaid skirts and stripey jumpers abound. Director Michael Cabot skillfully draws the omnipresent underlying tensions and hostility to the surface allowing each actor to turn their character inside out. It is 1976, Dennis tinkers in his garage, and over a course of twelve months as he attends to a mechanical breakdown he is oblivious to his wife Vera’s impending emotional breakdown. Marjorie hovers in the background, making tea and finding fault while hypochondriac friend Neil has planned a birthday surprise for his wife, Pam, who is less than enthusiastic. The first half, featuring the men feels ungainly, however when the women enter the fray in act two , the pace accelerates. Gender roles and dynamics have moved on in the past fifty years, so the liberation the women seek feels a little discordant. The bumbling macho male tropes seem similarly dated, the psychiatric problems awkward, with the misogyny and bullying uneasy laughs. Nonetheless Dennis is enjoyably frenetic in a way that Basil Fawlty fans would appreciate and Helen Phillips as Pam give an alluring pleasing performance. Poignant, potent, wry and funny this is a worthy revival and runs until 17 May before continuing on nationwide tour. Gary Longden 13-05-25 |
|
|
|
