Absurd Person Singular by Alan Ayckbourn. Directed by Jarrad West. Canberra Repertory Society. Theatre 3. Until December 5. Bookings 62571950.
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Esteemed London theatre reviewer Michael Billington describes playwright Alan Ayckbourn as "a left wing writer using a right wing form". Nowhere is this more evident than in Canberra Rep's current production of Ayckbourn's Absurd Person Singular.
On the surface, the play is a hilarious attack on class and social behaviour. On the other hand it is a scathing indictment of greed, hypocrisy and social climbing.
Three couples meet each Christmas time at the home of one of the couples. Act One takes place in the kitchen of contractor Sidney Hopcroft (Arran McKenna) and his obsessive compulsive wife, Jane (Amy Dunham). Act Two is in the kitchen of architect Geoffrey Jackson (Cole Hilder) and his manic depressive wife, Eva (Steph Roberts). The final act is in the kitchen of banker Ronald Brewster-Wright (Chris Baldock) and dipsomaniac wife, Marion (Tracy Noble).
Director Jarrad West steers his excellent cast through moments of sheer hilarity in the Jackson kitchen to incidents of moving vulnerability and pathos.
It is Ayckbourn's female characters that arouse poignancy. Dunham perfectly captures the "little wife", obsessed with keeping her kitchen clean and aiming to please. Roberts's Eva evokes empathy in her disoriented moments of self loathing and Noble's society wife seeks escape from the pointless in the purposefulness of the bottle.
Although written half a century ago, Absurd Person Singular packs a powerful punch.
Each paints a moving portrait of society's unacknowledged woman. Ayckbourn's portrayal of his male characters is less sympathetic.
There are fine performances from McKenna as the self-made working class man intent on rising above his station, Hilder as the struggling, philandering architect and Baldock as the affluent banker, seemingly dispassionate and unfulfilled.
West directs with insightful perception. Ayckbourn's comedic flair and keen observance of the absurdity of human nature evokes gales of laughter at West's tightly staged comic business.
This is perfectly counterpoised by the pathos captured in Jane Hopcroft's plaintive appearance at the kitchen window and Eva Jackson's catatonic state of depression in the midst of flurry and mayhem.
But it is in the staging of the final moments of Absurd Person Singular that Ayckbourn's sting in the tail of his tragi-comedy is most strikingly displayed. Although written half a century ago, Absurd Person Singular packs a powerful punch, exposing a society still bound by social expectation and the enforced roles within our western democracy.
In a year of unforeseen challenges that have brought the arts industry to its knees, Canberra Repertory once again has proven its resilience and determination to provide high quality, entertaining and thought-provoking productions for its audiences.
Rep's production of Absurd Person Singular is a credit to its talented production team, cast and crew. If laughter is the best medicine then Rep's offering for the festive season is a welcome remedy with sobering food for thought on the side. Highly recommended!
