Oh, I have such mixed feelings about this play.
Sir Alan Ayckbourn’s “How The Other Half Loves” is described by North Coast Repertory Theatre — where it’s already been extended to May 13 — as “A portrait of three very different marriages that turns into a spirited game of mixed doubles involving sex, jealousy and ingenious stagecraft that only Mr. Ayckbourn can design.”
Yes, the staging is ingenious, and the structure is breathtaking in its complexity, but some of the dialogue of this almost 50 year old show is so glaring in its political incorrectness that it was impossible for both my husband and me to get past it.
The story revolves around three couples. Frank (James Newcomb) and Fiona (Jacquelyn Ritz) Foster are the oldest and wealthiest. Fiona is having an affair with Bob Phillips (Christopher M. Williams), who works for Frank and whose wife, Teresa (Sharon Rietkerk), is exhausted from staying at home with their baby. When Frank and Teresa become suspicious, Fiona and Bob concoct an alibi involving the Featherstones – William (Benjamin Cole), who also works for Frank, and his shy wife, Mary (Noelle Marion).
As they say in the literary world, hijinks ensue.
What makes the play so unique and so much fun is the fact that the Fosters’ and Phillips’ apartments are intertwined onstage, and the action is fast-paced and a joy to watch. One of the most clever scenes showcases the Featherstones having dinner at the Fosters’ one night and at the Phillips’ the next night — all at the same time.
It’s brilliant.
The show is often hilarious, the ’60s music perfectly sets the time period and the performances are all excellent (Rietkerk and Marion are real stand-outs). But here’s my issue.
At one point, one of the male characters is asked what he’d do if he found out his wife was cheating on him. “I suppose I’d hit her,” he admits. Later on, one of the female characters says, “At least if he hit me, I’d know he cares.” And William constantly slaps Mary’s hand when he thinks she’s doing something wrong.
Seriously? I don’t care if the play was written half a century ago and is supposed to represent that era. In this #MeToo era, does anyone really need to make jokes about hitting women — not to mention women liking it? Didn’t the actresses have a problem with this?
The play would not have lost ANYTHING by omitting those lines and actions. It would have made it stronger and I would be able to give it a wholehearted recommendation.
As is, I can only give it half.
All photos by Aaron Rumley
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