Relatively Speaking, Jermyn Street Theatre, ★★★★

I've visited a variety of theatres this week, from the grandiose Royal Albert Hall to the tiny fringe Turbine Theatre, hidden in the old redundant arches, near Battersea Power Station. Tonight, I descended the stairs, below the streets of Piccadilly, to visit the even smaller Jermyn Street Theatre, buried below the infamous home of the reputable menswear market, which boasts a 'worldwide reputation for high quality British artistry and craftsmanship'.

The play I chose to see can also boast to have a reputation for high quality British artistry and craftsmanship as it's the first major stage hit of the acclaimed and celebrated British comedy king, Sir Alan Ayckbourn. I first came across his four-hander play, Relatively Speaking in a Welsh translation and production at the now demolished and much loved, Theatr Gwynedd in Bangor, North Wales. What I'll always remember about this particular production, is the reveal of the set for the second scene of the first act. I shall come back to this revelation, later.

The plot appears to be a simplistic one, starting with a young couple, Ginny (Lianne Harvey) 'a young woman with a chequered past' and her 'current boyfriend', and soon-to-be fiancé Greg (James Simmons) who wakes-up in her flat, in London. Set when the play was originally written, around 1965, this gave the director Robin Herford and his set designer, the chance to introduce suitable motifs of the period to accompany the music, setting the scene perfectly. Despite the extremely limited performance space (which resulted in the producers having to remove the first row of seating after they began to sell the tickets!) the flat they aimed to convey, worked successfully. The major problem of this play is that the remaining 75% of the production is set on the outdoor garden patio of married upper-class couple Sheila (Rachel Fielding) and Philip's (Christopher Bonwell) home in Buckinghamshire. 

This transition from a dreary small London flat to the opulence of the outdoor garden, will always pose a problem for any set designer, and despite this particular production's rather clumsy stage-hands-in-the-dark removal of props, and a bed that turns into border benches, it was successfully completed in full view of the audience. To return to my Welsh literal revelation of the garden at Bangor, it was quite spectacular, as the curtain was pulled back to reveal a whole plant-filled conservatory, which took my breath away, and earned several "wows!" and applause for the audience.

The apparent simplicity of the plot then turns into a genius complex collection of miss-understanding and confusion, brilliantly conveyed by this excellent cast. I won't divulge any further plot clues, as it would ruin the experience, but I was again reminded of how clever this whole play is, carefully selecting just the right amount of words and dialogue, to make it completely credible and incredibly comic.

The only unexpected issue that arose at this performance, was the imminent and rather embarrassing departure of one highly-offended female audience member, who was unfortunately sat in the seat in front of me. Throughout the first act, she and her friend seemed to be really enjoying the comedy elements, laughing out louder than anyone else at Ayckbourn's entertaining comedy. But something clearly triggered her in the second act, which resulted in her determined departure through a fire-exit, mumbling something about having "had enough of this sh*t...", clutching her wine bottle and handbag, as she went. The only part of the dialogue that I can assume really offended her, was when Phillip was playfully and jokingly reminiscing about calling his 'daughter' rather unfortunate names, as a child. Naturally far more aware with the dated dialogue in the rest of the play, my relaxed entertained ears began to listen more carefully, and there were other minor references to what is now viewed as questionably non-politically-correct office behaviour by older males, towards their younger secretaries, too.

A rather unfortunate incident, which could have been caught at the previews. I do hope it will be remedied and removed before the next performance, in view of the delicate Me Too current climate. Surely these lines should have been discussed and amended at the read-through stage, as they clearly have the potential to offend.

Despite the additional drama in the second act, I really enjoyed this intimate interpretation of this clever comedic classic.

Relatively Speaking, Jermyn Street Theatre, ★★★★