How the Other Half Loves

Thank you.

Also

Why does anyone pay Jenny Seagrove?

Thankfully she has been absent for a good while

But seeing her in this bought back memories of when she seemed to star in a rash like succession of equally cheaply produced plays in the early 2000s

Saw this at press night on Thursday evening.

I simply do not understand why productions such as this clog up a prestigious West End theatre in 2016.

Ayckbourne's cleverly constructed play seemed very dated even played in period. Some really misogynist views in the script do not sit well today. I felt I was in a time warp.

The set was ugly and cheap looking.

The cast did their usual TV shtick. Jenny Seagrove gave her usual wooden mannered performance that she does in everything and could kill a stage comedy at 100 paces. Nicholas Le Prevost came out of it the best but his bumbling character/peformance (though amusing) slowed the pace. Gillian Wright played an exagerated stage persona of her Eastenders character and Tamzin Outhwaite the usual Essex loud mouth! Jason Merrells appears shirtless for a lot of Act Two for those interested in that sort of thing!!

The show ran around 2.30 but I had lost the will to live long before then.

The press night audience gave it generous (very generous) applause!

2 stars

The problem I had with this was I couldn't hear anything Nicholas le Provost said.

But Ayckbourn usually gets a free pass from the critics, no matter how dire some of his plays are. I suppose he's an institution now so to criticize is to lack respect, or something.

Jesus!

I won't say I'm an Ayckbourn fan but he has definetly written better than this

Neanderthals can tell that Tamsin outhwaite and Jason merrels are in a bad marriage from the get go, and yes it turns into soap opera by the interval

The acting is all over the place, especially sea groves ultra mannered performance and Gillian Wright mugging all the time

That sounds like a much more interesting play!

maybe Ayckbourn's domestic tragedies have aged, but some of his theatrical tricks were pretty astounding. I have a fondness for The Norman Conquests, and the time travel trick in Communicating doors is clever if never explained. Taking steps had a great idea, but as so often, the play never quite lived up to the theatrical trick. But no one can call him lazy - so many plays and some are pretty innovative.
What is everyone's favourite? I will still plump for Norman Conquests.

I loved "Bedroom Farce" with Richard Briars & June Whitfield.

Slightly off-topic, but as a Guildford regular, I might take offence at this, though actually, if you look at the current Yvonne Arnaud schedule, you will see a much greater variety of plays than usual.  The huge downside for me is that having waited so long for them to be a little more adventurous, I find that they're programming productions I've seen elsewhere in the south-east and very recently, e.g. Invincible (now touring, but originally at the Orange Tree); Toast (also touring, but revived last year at the Park Theatre and I saw it there and the original in the West End); Clybourne Park, Bad Jews, etc.  It's theatre for people who don't go to any other theatre.

However, to return to the play in question, I do wonder if Ayckbourn grows on people with age?  I wasn't so keen when I was younger but am now quite a fan of his mid-period work, though not the really tricksy plays with umpteen potential endings or the more outre ones he wrote later.  For instance, I loved last year's Menier revival of Communicating Doors, whereas the original production didn't really speak to me.

And actually, I was thinking of seeing this play, despite all the adverse comments here, but now I'm wondering whether I would agree with the critics (mainly older people) or the posters!

O dear and I bin and gonna booked it...