Bedroom Farce

Gordon Hecht, Katherine Gauthier, Amy Matysio and Ron Pederson in Bedroom Farce. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.

English playwright Alan Ayckbourn's Bedroom Farce is a laugh-out-loud funny and relatable slice of modern coupledom. Written in 1976, the play is set in the bedrooms of three different couples whose lives are thrown into chaos by the troubled marriage of fourth couple. Now on stage as part of Soulpepper's current season, Ted Dykstra's freewheeling production is a fun throwback that demonstrates just how little things have changed in almost 40 years.

Everyone has or has known those friends. Friends who seem oblivious to how their behaviour affects the lives of those closest to them. Bedroom Farce follows a group of friends and family over one eventful evening. We first meet Earnest (Derek Boyes) and Delia (Corinne Kosio), a long-married older couple celebrating their anniversary. They are worried about their son Trevor (Ron Pederson) whose marriage to the complicated Susannah (Amy Matysio) seems doomed to fail. Why couldn't he have married that nice girl named Jan instead? Meanwhile, in a nearby bedroom Jan (Caitlin Driscoll) tries to cheer up her grumpy bedridden husband Nick (played with great physicality by Alex McCooeye) who has injured his back. She leaves him behind to sulk while she attends a party hosted by a much happier couple, Malcolm (Gordon Hecht) and Kate (Katherine Gauthier), who have just moved into a new place. But when the clueless Trevor and Susannah arrive, things take an annoying turn and no amount of hinting or pleading can get them out of other people's bedrooms. The result is simply delicious comedy.

Featuring a clever set by Ken MacKenzie and retro costumes by Erika Connor, this well-paced production perfectly recreates a '70s vibe highlighted by select music choices from that era. Dykstra gets strong comedic performances out of the cast. Boyes and Koslo are particularly excellent as Earnest and Delia, whose routine yet loving marriage epitomizes the middle-class British experience.

Bedroom Farce is great date night fare for any generation. Don't miss this feel-good show, on stage until June 20, 2015 at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. Visit soulpepper.ca for more information and to buy tickets.