REVIEW: Time and Time Again
By Gary Murray, volunteer theatre reviewer
This week at the Devonshire Park Theatre, Phil and Ben Productions are bringing us Sir Alan Ayckbourn’s Time and Time Again with the same cast as the recent Dial M For Murder. And it’s a very enjoyable evening at the theatre.
This was the first Ayckbourn play (he’s now up to 92 by the way at the age of 87) to move away from straight farce and look towards comedy which came from the characters – the tension that happens when people find themselves locked into a given situation.
As is often the case with Ayckbourn, it all takes place in the suburbs. Andy Newell’s set gives us a conservatory on the back of a house with the garden next to an off-stage sports field. The idea is that anyone in the conservatory can’t hear what’s being said in the garden and vice-versa.
Leonard (Pete Ashmore) an enigmatic man, lives with his sister Anne (Katy Dean) and her domineering husband Graham (Phil Stewart). They return from a family funeral with Peter (Simon Pothecary) who works for Graham and his fiancée Joan (Tanya-Loretta Dee).
Graham, a red-faced man who shall we say likes his drink, makes a clumsy, lecherous pass at Joan. She escapes to the garden and encounters Leonard who spends much of his time out there reading poetry and conversing with a gnome called Bernard.
Despite being useless at a lot of things and having largely withdrawn from the world, Leonard provides a welcome change for Joan to the sport-loving and emotionally stunted Peter.
And, we’re off and running...
"We’re lucky to have theatre this good in our town"
Director Ben Roddy has drawn some great, nuanced performances from a cast by now used to working with each other, with superb timing and crackling comedy.
Time and Time Again was written in 1971 but thankfully is light on any period-piece trappings. The most we get is some contemporary music between scenes. Yes, some of the social mores will have changed in the intervening 55 years but this comedy still holds up today.
The play explores the grey areas between people and is all the funnier for that. Nobody is all good or all bad. And that’s how it should be.
Treat yourself to an evening of superb performances and crackling comedy. We’re lucky to have theatre this good in our town.
:: Time and Time Again runs until Saturday, 1 August. Tickets are available here.
:: Gary Murray was a professional actor for 14 years in theatre, radio, TV and even a couple of operas. After many years on the tech side of ticketing, he now works at non-profit Tech Resort sharing digital skills and is a volunteer reviewer for Eastbourne Reporter
