Confusions

Synopsis

Five interlinked one-act plays dealing with the human dilemma of loneliness Mother Figure, a disastrous fete (Gosforth's Fete, an unsuccessful seduction attempt Drinking Companion, a fraught dinner encounter Between Mouthfuls and the final play A Talk In the Park sums up, with five self-immolated characters on park benches.

Our Review:

14 August 2009

Confusions, which consists of five loosely-linked one act plays, is Alan Ayckbourn’s study of quiet desperation. Passing from one farcical situation to the next, we encounter relationships (and people) in various stages of break down, which, though consistently funny, never fail to be a reminder of our perennial problem with words and how they can fail us.

The play, which received its London premiere in 1976, was written during a purple patch in Ayckbourn’s illustrious career and has the writer’s usual wry take on middle class marital strife.

We initially meet Lucy (Gillian McCafferty), a put upon mother of three with an absent husband and a strange aversion to bells. When her bickering married neighbours visit to enquire about her health we realise she’s become accustomed to treating everyone she meets like children. Almost a hostage in her own home, she seeks to infantilise the world around her, finding the reali...

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Latest User Review

Featherstroke - 14 August 2009:

A brilliant production. Extremely funny and very well directed. The cast are superb, with a magnificent performance from a very talented Charlotte Milchard. A MUST SEE for everyone! ...

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