‘Private Fears in Public Places’ by Alan Ayckbourn
1 July 2009Last Friday we caught up with the second play in the Royal Theatre, Northampton, ‘Ayckbourn at 70’ season (following ‘Just Between Ourselves’, reviewed here in May 2009). ‘Private Fears in Public Places’, written in 2004, is a slightly unusual Ayckbourn play, consisting of 54 short scenes without an interval. Laurie Sansom’s production gave us a different view of the Royal Theatre, placing all the audience on the stage amongst the action. The set created seven small performance spaces with the audience forming part of the backdrop. Those sitting beside the hotel bar were at cabaret tables or on high bar stools, while other audience members sat on a hillside of sofas in Stewart’s living room. We were in a section of the audience sitting on office chairs and filing cabinets in an estate agent’s office and the remaining floor space was covered with a range of colour-coded cushions. Royal & Derngate staff and volunteers were on hand to direct us to the relevant seating: most people emerged onto the stage intrigued and confused about where to go but, as we took our seats, one lady who had clearly paid attention to the careful explanation given by the box office strode onto the stage proudly declaring “we are a cushion”! ‘Private Fears in Public Places’ is a very sad exploration of loneliness without any big comic set-pieces – thoughtful and poignant – very well acted and excellently cast.
posted by Robin Simpson @ 7:55 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home