Bedroom Farce

Synopsis

When Malcolm and Kate threw a house-warming they had no idea how hot it would get. But then with four couples, three bedrooms, two ex-lovers and one set of parents-in-law (not to mention self assembly furniture and pilchards on toast) it was never going to go that smoothly. First performed June 1975.

Our Review:

4 June 2012

Bedroom Farce is a seriocomic take on one eventful night in the lives of four interconnected couples. It is Ernest and Delia’s anniversary; their son Trevor causes a scene with his troubled wife Susannah at the housewarming of young couple Malcom and Kate; also at the party is Trevor’s ex-, Jan, who has left her husband Nick in bed with a bad back.

The action takes place in three bedrooms, normally a safe and private place, though Trevor and Susannah between them cause chaos in all three. After their inevitable argument, in Malcolm and Kate’s bedroom, Susannah flees to her in-laws. Trevor and Jan share a kiss, after which Trevor decides he must tell Nick the situation.

In the hands of someone like Mike Leigh this set-up would take us into excruciatingly voyeuristic and embarrassing territory. Ayckbourn’s play, while it intelligently anatomises the failings as well as foibles of four marriages, is ultim...

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Latest User Review

David Frederickson - 2 November 2012:

Only just merits two stars. The cast worked hard but bringing more than occasional humour from the script was a bridge too far. Several people who sat around us did not return for the second half....

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