I must confess that before seeing this play I was a complete newcomer to Alan Ayckbourn. Sure, I knew he was a renowned playwright and theatre director, but his reputation is such that I’d always just assumed I must have seen something by him before. Alas, it was not the case. So when review tickets came my way, what else could I do?!
Life and Beth, Ayckbourn’s seventy-first(!) play, is a relatively recent project; a slight, whimsical study of an ordinary woman’s response to widowhood which is perhaps not quite what is expected …. Although it won’t change anyone’s world, it is, I must add, a rather entertaining production and for an Ayckbourn newbie like myself, probably a suitable introduction to his work. Rooted thoroughly in the mundanities of daily existence, the play nonetheless has a supernatural element, as the title’s pun hints. We meet middle-aged Beth (Liza Goddard) as she prepares for her first Christmas as a widow, joined by son Martin (Richard Stacey), his girlfriend Ella (Ruth Gibson), and boozy sister-in-law Connie (a scene stealing Eileen Battye). Her equanimity in the face of recent bereavement seems at first strange and then stoic, but when she receives a somewhat unwelcome visitation from husband Gordon’s ghost, all becomes clear. Performed to grating perfection (if that’s not too much of an oxymoron) by Adrian McLoughlin, who clearly revels in playing such an everyday monster, we soon discover that Gordon, a former health and safety manager, is precisely the kind of person you’d hate to spend half an hour sat next to on the bus let alone a lifetime with. His ghost’s hectoring of Beth sets up some very funny moments which suggest what their marriage was like without getting too solemn. Although Beth has come to realise how she has suffered as this pedantic bore’s wife over the years, she doesn’t seem subservient or meek; she has a feistiness which promises to be given free rein if only she can get rid of that pesky apparition.
Life and Beth is definitely not a tragedy or a conventional ghost story, but a comic, subtle reflection on everyday lives and relationships. Set entirely in Beth’s living room, the stage resembles what could be the suburban residence of any middle aged couple and is utilised cleverly to reveal Gordon’s ghost at key points in the story. There are no puffs of smoke here; the appearance of the spectre is as naturalistic as the dialogue. Highlights were Eileen Battye’s drunken table laying (honestly – it mightn’t sound much, but it really worked), Goddard’s droll delivery and Terence Booth’s local vicar David. Booth was great as the slightly jaded cleric who gets Connie’s pulse rating, managing to make an offer of prayer sound like a come on. The only thing which felt on less stable ground was the rather forced handling of Martin and Ella’s relationship. It was clear that Martin was supposed to be an insecure man desperately trying to emulate a father whom his mother would ironically rather forget, and certainly Stacey’s comic snorting and overeager posture reflected this well. What was less clear was how his apparently ineffectual character could possibly reduce Ella to such a hysterical wreck whilst they are offstage. It’s to Ruth Gibson’s credit that she won our sympathy without uttering a single word throughout the entire play; but the couple not only seemed badly paired, their body language at times suggested domestic abuse rather than increasing irritation which was surely not the point of the comedy. If their roles were to provide a contrast to and highlight Beth’s new freedom, it would seem to do the audience a disservice. We get to know Gordon after all! I won’t dwell on this though as the play was overall a pleasant way to spend an evening, infused as it is with deadpan, homely humour and gentle emotional tugs. Showing at the Playhouse until 21 March, I would recommend this, although given it’s duration many might balk at the price of admission. I suspect the play’s situational comedy and crowd pleasing central character would do rather well on TV and wouldn’t be at all surprised if the BBC commissioned an adaptation.
Great review! I finished Rabbit Redux last night and I am afraid to report that the women do not get any better. They all seem to be objects of pity at best...however, I still managed to enjoy it! Onto Rabbit is Rich...
Posted by: Ailsa | March 19, 2009 at 04:12 PM