Woy Woy Little Theatre will kick off its 2024 season with a comedy that is sure to please as it presents Alan Ayckbourn’s timeless classic Relatively Speaking for three weeks from February 23.
The play of misunderstandings and mistaken identities has a cast of four.
Greg is led to believe that Philip and Sheila are his girlfriend Ginny’s parents.
The fact that they are not leads to much hilarity in true Ayckbourn style.
Misunderstandings are stretched to the limit, turned inside out, mistakenly clarified, cut up and patched together again, and shifted into different ones.
Even at the end of the final scene, the audience is left guessing.
The play is as witty, uproarious and amusing today as it was 55 years ago.
Directed by Andrew Thomson, the production features four fine actors – Judi Jones, Stephen Pearson, Samantha Young and Jake Cain-Roser.
Thomson said the play took place in the mid 1960s, initially at Ginny’s small London flat and then in the English countryside of Lower Pendon.
“As in many of Ayckbourn’s plays, we soon find everyone at cross purposes,” he said.
“As we all know, human beings are naturally fallible creatures so why not throw up an untruth or two to cover our weaknesses, past or present?
“What harm can it do?
“Unfortunately, but thankfully for us in the audience, humans are generally not very good at hiding the truth, so as each character does their best, and worst, to either hide or somewhat politely uncover the truth about someone they thought they knew, we can only sit back and delight in the tangled web that is clumsily woven before our very eyes in this delightful comedy.
“A common phrase about acting is that ‘acting is reacting’.
“By this I mean it’s often the actors’ responses to what’s thrown at them which really uncovers a character, rather than what they actually say.
“I’ve been ably assisted by assistant director Kelli Ward and stage manager Christine Cherry and we’ve all really enjoyed embracing this concept, as we hope and cheer each character on only to cringe and squirm as they are thwarted.
“So who does manage to get through unscathed?
“You’ll have to find that truth out for yourself.”
Relatively Speaking opens at The Peninsula Theatre for three weeks on Friday, February 23.
For session times and booking go to woywoylt.com.au