'Bedroom Farce' at Westport Country Playhouse - My Review

Pictured: Cecilia Hart (Delia), Sarah Manton (Susannah) & Paxton Whitehead (Ernest). Photo by Carol Rosegg

In some ways, the title of the play ‘Bedroom Farce’ by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn says it all. In his nineteenth full-length play written in 1975, there is rollicking comedy that takes place over one long Saturday evening and it is all set in three separate bedrooms. The relationships of four couples (and one almost love triangle) are on display in the room where humans spend a large chunk of their time, at their best and their worst. The focus is on the couples at various stages in their marriages, with only cursory bawdy elements, and it is all played for laughs.

I enjoyed this production for what it was, an intricate and rollicking farce. The packed audience was laughing throughout. One actor deftly incorporated an audience member’s ringing cell phone into his performance on opening night despite the fact that Mr. Lamos had reminded us to turn them off. He even suggested asking someone young nearby for instructions on how to do so in order to enjoy “the pleasure of two hours without a cell phone.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MY ENTIRE REVIEW ON ONSTAGE

Westport Country Playhouse has announced their most ambitious lineup for next season. ‘Art’ and ‘Red’ will play in repertory in May, followed by “Buyer and Cellar,” ‘The Invisible Hand,’ and ‘What the Butler Saw.’ A brand new version of ‘Camelot’ will close out the season that runs through October of next year.