Dry Rot

Synopsis

A farce which deals with a crazy but very likeable gang of bookies who, in order to be near the racecourse, are staying at a country hotel run by a retired colonel and his wife and daughter. Secret rooms, sliding panels, mistaken identity and a nice little bit of romance are some of the main ingredients of this very racy and slick farce.

Our Review:

Paul Lucas-Scott - 25 September 2012

When it comes to farce, works such as Don’t Dress for Dinner, No Sex Please, We’re British, Noises Off and Boeing-Boeing are all classics of their times. In 1998 Dry Rot was voted as one of the National Theatre’s 100 plays of the century– and, back then, it probably was. Today it just seems terribly dated.

The plot concerns a gang of crooked bookies who come up with a “get rich quick” scheme in which they intend to kidnap the favourite in the big race and replace it with a tired old nag. That, as is quite usual for a farce, is the full extent of the main plot. There are a couple of love-story side plots and, of course, a set with four doors, one set of French windows and a secret wall panel leading to the cellar in order to facilitate the myriad of, mostly, well timed comic entrances and exits.

Liza Goddard plays Mrs Wagstaff, the dizzy blonde “lady-of-the-house” – the house being...

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Latest User Review

Roger Ackroyd - 30 September 2012:

Oh dear, this was a dreadful, dreadful play that became sillier as the evening wore on. Playing to a house a third full (thankfully we only paid half-price for the tickets and on reflection that was too much), the production strained to bursting point to rustle up a laugh or two. A silly plot, wooden dialogue and over-acting by the maid (I suspect she had to fall into hysterical laughter to stop herself going mad) made one wonder why anyone thought it would be a good idea to revive this turkey. The other plays mentioned in this review - Noises Off and Boeing Boeing - were far, far superior to this old tosh. The only entertainment I got was from the lady next to me rustling her sweet bag and the two tipsy women in front scrabbling around looking for a dropped bottle of water. Normally I would have been totally irritated by these antics but that evening I was grateful for the diversion....

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