Humour is a funny thing, it either gets you or it doesn’t. I am not a great fan of farce, being too logical, probably the Virgo in me, and prefer cerebral antics to physical ones. That being the case, I didn’t hold out much hope for Bedroom Farce, by the esteemed Yorkshire-based writer, Alan Aykbourn, and for once, I did not leave the theatre disappointed. Although not pushing my laughter button, there were those in the audience who found it hilarious, especially one lady who I believe would have been in fits of laughter had her cat died.

The raison d’être of farce is to make the participants appear as silly as possible, whilst still giving them a credible story to hold the thing together. In this case it concerned four married couples who initially seemed to be chosen at random, but it transpired that they were all interlinked. The way in which this was revealed was very well done, with the status of one of the pairs not being made obvious until almost the end of Act One.

The cast in happy mode – but not for long.

The set comprised three bedrooms – three bedrooms, four couples, we all know where this is going, well we would all be wrong – from left to right, let’s call them one, two and three. I told you I was logical. Rather than rampant wife-swapping – well, it was written in 1975 – the theme of the work was the examination of each relationship. It was a motif which has been repeated many times before and since, but usually treated more seriously.

All of the action takes place over one night and begins in bedroom one, that of the most senior couple, Delia and Ernest, who are preparing to go out for a meal to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Delia is holding things up by taking an eternity to apply her make-up, leaving Ernest time to open the window, sit on the cill and lean out to inspect the pointing and brickwork, all in full evening dress.

Ernest, conducting a structural survey of the property.

The action then switches to bedroom three, where Jan is rushing round so as not to be late for a housewarming party. Her husband, Nick, is stuck in bed having strained his back and being immobile After causing him great pain by manhandling him to hurriedly remove crumbs from the sheets, she rushes off, leaving him to his own devices. In order to de-crumb, she has moved the book he was reading to the foot of the bed, giving the actor, the opportunity to perform various gyrations in trying to retrieve it. After several minutes of attempts, eliciting moans and groans, he manages to get it, only to then knock the tome onto the floor.

Bedroom two sees a newly married couple preparing to hold their housewarming party, and accept the delivery of a large parcel, which Malcolm says is a surprise for Kate. He then tries a shirt on, which is too tight, so changes whilst Kate takes a shower. She no sooner returns, clad only in a towel, than the doorbell rings and Trevor arrives, walking straight into the bedroom, causing Kate to leap under the covers for modesty’s sake. Trevor is having trouble with his wife, Susannah, and they have split up, so he is there alone. He sits on the bed seemingly inconsolable, meaning that Kate is more or less trapped, as he ignores all hints to go downstairs. Further guests arrive, including Jan, and Malcolm keeps coming back with their coats, which he deposits on the bed, causing Kate to disappear beneath the huge pile of outer garments.

Nick being ‘nursed’ by Jan

Back to bedroom three, where Nick is still trying to get his book, causing him to fall out of bed, spending lots more time – it seemed an age – trying to get both it and himself back into the sack.

Meanwhile, Susannah has unexpectedly arrived at the party and bursts into bedroom two, to find Trevor kissing Jan! It seems that they once were an item, but split up with her marrying Nick some time later. The three go downstairs allowing Kate to emerge from the coat mountain and get dressed.

Delia and Ernest have got back from their meal, which was a disaster, and prepare to turn in with the suggestion of a plate of sardines on toast to make up for the earlier dinner. Sardines on toast appeared to be a euphemism for a rather more adventurous bed based activity, although it did seem to be part of the foreplay. In the event, Ernest reappeared in the bedroom with pilchards on toast, as there were no sardines in the kitchen. In the interim, Delia had changed into her cotton nightie and donned a face mask. There then followed a discussion as to the merits of pilchards over sardines, or vice versa. Whether the larger species had the aphrodisiac qualities of their smaller relations we will never know, as Ernest then began to read a bedtime story to the recumbent Delia, ‘Tom Brown’s School Days’.

Malcolm restrains Trevor, whilst Susannah is given a body slam by Kate.

Bedroom two and Susannah and Trevor have been causing a scene at the party prompting all of the guests to leave, thus allowing Malcolm to do a reverse process with the coats. As Trevor was loathe to go home, fearing Susannah would be there, Kate says he can stay there for the night, much to the chagrin of Malcolm.

Bedroom three and Jan has returned home to confess to having kissed Trevor, presuming it was better to come clean than for Nick to find out from someone else.

Susannah, meanwhile, appears at bedroom one, as it transpires that Delia and Ernest are the parents of Trevor, and they take pity on her, Delia says she can stay there rather than go home and risk bumping into their son. To stretch incredibility beyond its limits, Delia tells Ernest to move into the spare room and let Susannah share her bed. He is not best pleased as the ceiling in that room has a damp patch. He takes a pillow and decamps, leaving the two women to sleep, something denied Delia as Susanne pinches the remaining pillow and keeps waking up screaming.

Delia giving succour to Susannah – again!

In the early hours, Trevor is having guilt pangs and so leaves Malcolm and Kate to go to see Jan and Nick in order to confess. There follows a load of business exploiting the relationships and Nick’s bad back.

Now they are alone, Malcolm reveals the contents of the surprise package, a piece of self-assembly furniture, which he carts downstairs in order to self-assemble. There is hammering and bashing preventing Kate from sleeping until the masterpiece is finished. it is a dressing table, which is obviously a total mess with legs of varying sizes.

At about 3.00am Susannah decides to ring Trevor to apologise and make-up, again disturbing Malcolm and Kate, and then Jan and Nick. They agree to go back to their flat for a reconciliation, leaving a trail of insomnia and angst in their wake.

Although I found the dialogue and over the top acting very childish, the execution was done superbly. The bedrooms were always on stage but, because the ones not in use were kept totally unlit, the audience’s attention was naturally drawn to the one where the action was.

If farce is your thing and therapy is not available in your area, then Bedroom Farce continues at Harrogate Theatre until Saturday, 20th September. For details please go to https://www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk/events/bedroom-farce/ and to see what else is on here it is https://www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/

There were no programmes or cast sheets available either on the night or on-line so I have not been able to put the actors’ names to the parts. I found one list but the photographs on my review do not always seem to correspond with those I saw. Neither can I find any details of a tour following Harrogate, and I am fast losing the will to live, so please check theatres in your local area.

Images supplied by Harrogate Theatre.

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