On Wednesday we were at the Old Vic in London to see Phillip Breen's new production of 'How the Other Half Loves' by Alan Ayckbourn. It was fascinating to see the Old Vic auditorium reconfigured for this 'in the round' production - which is how the play was originally staged 57 years ago. And it was a wonderful show with an excellent cast (led by Roger Allam) and brilliant comic timing, which was truly hilarious. 'How the Other Half Loves' now feels like typical Ayckbourn, with its single domestic setting, a seemingly simple comedy of manners that builds into a cleverly constructed farce of words (rather than of slapstick), playing with theatrical conventions in complex ways while still being perfectly clear and easy to follow. But this was an early Ayckbourn play that helped to establish that model, and it was notable that it lacked the darker turns of many of his later works. Alan Ayckbourn has now written more than 90 plays and this is the 10th I have reviewed here. (We previously saw ‘Constant Companions’ his 89th play at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough in 2023 - reviewed here in September 2023). 'How the Other Half Loves' famously shows two households simultaneously existing in the same hybrid living room, leading to the tour-de-force 'dinner party from hell' scene which is perfectly executed in the Old Vic production. Despite dealing with the pain and sadness of infidelity, this is an incredibly funny feelgood show.
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