Challenging Confusions....!

L-R: Julie Claridge, Russ Cook, John Beach and Nicky Thomas in 'Drinking Companion' It’s always a challenge to do justice to one of Alan Ayckbourn’s cleverly written plays. There’s usually a wicked comic element, guaranteed to generate laughs, but that’s coupled with a darker, sometimes uncomfortable message for the audience to reflect on. That can be tricky for amateurs to deliver convincingly. Nevertheless, for our autumn production we decided to tackle three of Ayckbourn’s ‘Confusions’, a linked series of five one-act plays. Although quite short plays, they are particularly challenging for the cast and the director. The actors have to develop believable characters in quite a short time - and tell a convincing story of course. We also chose a rather different approach to casting this time. Everyone who wanted to appear on stage, whether they had lots of experience or none at all, was offered a part. Hopefully, this will increase the number of people with the confidence to take a part in future productions. In Mother Figure, Lisa, Marion and Michael faced the challenge of giving a convincing portrayal of the unusual relationship which develops between a woman and her neighbours when she begins to treat them like children. At the end of that play, the challenge for Carole and her stage crew was to turn the set around in the very tight two minutes demanded by the director – which they succeeded in doing every night! The central character in Drinking Companion had to become more and drunk as he attempted to pick up two girls in his hotel. Although probably the most demanding of the three plays to interpret, this was probably my favourite, with its delicious moments of uncomfortable humour contrasting sharply with the poignant and pathetic nature of John’s character. The challenge was not only for John to learn some difficult monologues and to portray Harry’s gradual slide into drunkenness, but also for Nicky and Julie to sustain the mood during those long periods when they had no lines to say. Finally, in Between Mouthfuls, the main challenge for the diners was to stay in character at all times, even when the audience’s attention was focused elsewhere. They also had to tuck into their food while trying not to react to the antics of Russ’s wonderfully chaotic waiter. For Victoria backstage, the challenge was to provide a freshly cooked three-course meal for the play every night, including Lobster Thermidor. Surely a first on the Ashton stage! There were many other challenges, of course – such as trying to put together a workable rehearsal schedule; for Terri, trying to keep track of the actors’ version of what Ayckbourn had written; for Nick and helpers, building a set which could be turned around in next to no time; for Andrew, keeping track of all those wretched doorbells. There were plenty of challenges for Phil too, not only as producer helping to glue the whole thing together, but also as an actor in his first significant role. How dreadfully sad that we won’t be able to work together again. Challenging stuff then, this Ayckbourn, but at the end of it all hugely rewarding and obviously appreciated by our loyal Ashton audience. What next? Well, there are two more plays in the ‘Confusions’ series – I challenge someone to have a go at directing them! Malcolm Nelson, director, 'Confusions'