Bedroom Farce
★★★★☆ Accomplished
Church Hill Theatre: Thurs 8 – Sat 10 May 2025
Review by Hugh Simpson
The Edinburgh Makars’ production of Bedroom Farce at the Church Hill confidently combines comedy and tragedy to great effect.
Alan Ayckbourn’s 1975 play is famously set in three bedrooms which can all be seen on stage at the same time. One belongs to Ernest (Mike Appleby) and Delia (Kate Macsween), who are about to go out for an anniversary dinner.
Kate Macsween (Delia) and Mike Appleby (Ernest). Pic Emma Swift
Another is home to Kate (Manon Fivaz) and Malcolm (Robert Wyllie), who are preparing for their housewarming party. The third is the bedroom of Jan (Nicola Hamilton) and Nick (Liam Mortell), who have been invited to the housewarming, but a back injury means Liam is confined to bed.
The fourth couple who appear are Trevor (John Clarke) and Susannah (Amy Dallas). Their volatile relationship is complicated by the fact that Trevor, as well as being Ernest and Delia’s son, is also Jan’s ex.
works perfectly on stage
Despite the title, the play isn’t a farce at all, and certainly does not feature the bed-hopping you might expect. Although some of the content has dated badly, there is still a good deal that works perfectly on stage.
Nicola Hamilton (Jan) and Liam Mortell (Nick). Pic Emma Swift
The play is beautifully constructed, and alongside the comedy, there is the darkness Ayckbourn specialises in. These are people with serious sadness and real problems which they don’t talk about. And when they do discuss them, it tends to be in completely the wrong way and to disastrous effect.
The focus switches constantly from one room to another. The first half is relatively sedate but the pace picks up considerably after the interval. This means that the play needs a director with a genuine command of proceedings, and Mark Wilson supplies exactly that. With the aid of the assured lighting of Gordon Hughes, the play soon settles into an enviable rhythm that gives it real comic momentum.
hangdog ruminations
Appleby and Macsween are very good indeed as the older couple. Appleby’s hangdog ruminations on the damp patch in the spare bedroom and Macsween’s evasive reserve are beautifully done.
Robert Wyllie (Malcolm), Manon Fivaz (Kate) and John Clarke (Trevor). Pic Emma Swift
Mortell’s spluttering anger at being laid up in bed and Hamilton’s frustration are pitched just right. Jan, in particular, can be a character who is overshadowed by the others, but here she is very believable.
Fivaz and Wyllie also supply realism as Kate and Malcolm, striking a fine balance between the comedy and the deeper sadness in the relationship. John Clarke is very funny as Trevor; perhaps a little too much so, as the comedy tends to overshadow the darkness of a character who is genuinely terrible in his self-absorption, and in how oblivious he is to the havoc he wreaks on others.
genuinely worrying
There is a real edge to his relationship with his wife, however, with the excellent Dallas giving Susannah a side that is genuinely worrying. The moment when their bickering erupts into violence is done very well here and is classic Ayckbourn – you laugh, even though what you are witnessing is deeply concerning.
John Clarke (Trevor), Nicola Hamilton (Jan) and Manon Fivaz (Kate). Pic Emma Swift
The set – by Wilson, Appleby and Sid Gardner – is very sturdy and extremely impressive. Some of the furnishings seem just a touch too modern for the period when the play is set, but the overall effect easily excuses this.
Martin Burnell’s sound and Jo Barrow’s costumes are just as carefully considered as the rest of the production, which is very fine indeed.
Running time: One hour and 50 minutes (including one interval).
Church Hill Theatre, 30 Morningside Rd, EH10 4DR
Thursday 8 – Saturday 10 May 2025
Daily at 7.30 pm
Tickets and details: Book here.
Website: https://edinburghmakars.com/
Facebook: @edinburghmakars
Instagram: @edinburghmakars
Amy Dallas (Susannah), Kate Macsween (Delia) and Mike Appleby (Ernest). Pic Emma Swift.
ENDS
