Season's Greetings

Synopsis

As Neville and Belinda Bunker prepare for the Festive Season, Neville has again forgotten to buy his wife a present, sister Rachel is in her usual state about her love life, Uncle Bernard is planning yet another of his interminable children's puppet shows, Uncle Harvey is growing more eccentric than ever, Patti and husband Eddie are at t heir customary loggerheads, whilst in the kitchen, Auntie Phyllis is drunk in charge of their dinner. All in all, just another typical Christmas for the Bunker family. Until, that is, something really disastrous occurs...

Our Review:

Paul Lucas-Scott - 27 November 2012

Alan Ayckbourn is, without doubt, a master of observational, family-orientated, comedy pieces. His characters always have something about them to which an audience can relate and the comic situations, although occasionally straying into the absurd, are believable and quite frequently loaded with drama and pathos.

All that is necessary to take the words from the page and transform them into a theatrical masterpiece is a cast of consummate professionals with great comic timing and the ability to develop their characters to engage with the audience. Sadly, this is where Ian Dickens’ production falls flat on its comic face.

It may be something to do with the fact that this particular tour is so short, but the piece seems dreadfully under-rehearsed.As the actors fail to engage with each other in the way that a “family” should, they struggle to deliver the work as it was intended to be seen. With one or two notable exceptions, the perfo...

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