On stage are, from left, Colin Ford, Jane Moore, Rebecca Brough, Kevin Wilson, John Hammond and Lorna Wilson. Picture by Jennifer Burton.
STAGE REVIEWChristmas is a season for drunkenness, marital strife and phoniness, as Alan Ayck-bourn points out in Absurd Person Singular.
His exquisitely vicious black comedy, now at the Apollo, focuses sharply on the dark underbelly of the festive season.
However, in true Ayckbourn style, the play is as funny as it is tragic and the Apollo Players, directed by Gwen Stevens, brought out the humour with consummate skill.
Out of consideration for the lucky people who are still planning to catch this gem before the run ends tomorrow (Saturday), I shall endeavour not to give away too much of the plot.
It is safe to say the three-act play concerns three couples who meet on three consecutive Christmas Eves. In a typical Ayckbourn device, it is set in three kitchens, while cocktail parties are in progress next door.
In the first act, the hosts are Sidney and Jane (John Hammond and Lorna Wilson). Lorna is an anxious hostess, while Sidney is an ambitious tradesman who seeks to ingratiate himself with his pompous bank manager, Ronald (Colin Ford) and Ronald’s patronising wife, Marion.
Other party guests include the rakish Geoffrey (Kevin Wilson) and Eva (Rebecca Brough), his sad wife.
The play gains momentum in the second and third acts, as the characters develop into full-blown, larger-than-life stereotypes and their fortunes change.
My favourite act, the second, is side-splittingly farcical, as each character remains impossibly unaware of the real melodrama in progress.
This was the Apollo Players at their best. Some of the best acting I’ve seen in amateur dramatics, enhanced by brilliant 1970s-inspired set and costumes, thanks to stage manager Ness Haile and team.
Thanks to the Apollo for a great Christmas treat. Reader, do yourself a favour and catch it while you can.
Reporter: suel@iwcpmail.co.uk