On the Piste (Theatre Royal, Wakefield)

To date the productions of the John Godber Company at Wakefield Theatre Royal have been a mixture of new plays and revivals. On the Piste, which plays Wakefield before a seven-theatre tour, is both. Much changed from the 1990 original, this On the Piste even loses a character, Melissa, poised, attractive and holidaying on her own.

This throws the emphasis on the flaws in the existing relationships which hit the rocks (permanently? temporarily?) because of their own inbuilt problems. In the programme John Godber professes himself dissatisfied with the original characterisation and much happier with his fresh approach.

This time round he seems determined to avoid the broad brush approach; even in the farcical scenes things are naturalistic, even understated, with the result that the first half is decidedly low-key.

The plot uses a typical and effective Godber device: a new or original situation exposing the truth in the characters and relationships of ordinary people. Two English couples, all previously non-skiers, go on a ski-ing holiday to Chamonix. Chris and Alison are 30-odd, graduates, categorised as "snobs" by the other couple, Dave and Bev, younger, less fixed in their relationship, marked down as "dodgy" by Chris.

They are forced by circumstance to share an instructor, sexy, athletic Tony, reach an uneasy truce with each other, and share disasters on the slopes, naked/clothed embarrassment in the sauna, drunken parties and witnessing each other’s collapsing relationships, until the holiday is over and Tony prepares for the next batch of tourists.

This all sounds rather formulaic and to an extent it is, but Godber avoids the obvious in characterisation. With the exception of Bev, the holiday-makers take almost too long to establish their individuality. Roxanne Pallett‘s gloriously comic Bev also carries a note of pathos, the hapless young woman whose every word has a direct line to the feeling of the moment: tiredness, fear, sexual desire. Matthew Stathers as her boyfriend Dave and Samantha Seager and Peter McMillan as the slightly older couple develop gradually, act with great naturalness and convince in their moments of truth. Tom Rooke preens effectively as Tony without overdoing the macho self-adoration.

John Godber’s production is economical in the best way – unfussy, without unnecessary elaboration – but also economical in a practical set by Foxton that fails to excite, though, when Graham Kirk‘s lighting emphasises the Christmas tree aspect and the clouds swirl by on the back-cloth, it’s easy on the eye.

On the Piste plays the Theatre Royal, Wakefield, until 20 September, then tours the below venues until November:

25 – 27 Sep: Poole Lighthouse

30 Sep – 4 Oct: Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds

9 – 11 Oct: Cast, Doncaster

14 – 18 Oct: Blackpool Grand Theatre

28 Oct – 1 Nov: New Vic Theatre, Newcastle Under Lyme

4 – 15 Nov: Hull Truck Theatre

18 – 22 Nov: Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough