Relatively Speaking, The Mill at Sonning - ★★★★★ - Until April 18, 2020

Photographer: Andreas Lambis.

The words "Alan Ayckbourn" usually summon up fun and this production is no exception. It is a delight in every way. As soon as we see Michael Holt's clever set with all those doors we are anticipating a good time. It's not long before the characters are popping in and out of them and the laughs begin rolling in. Thanks to director, Robin Herford's perfect pacing of this piece the audience is completely taken into Ayckbourn's world and never given a pause to question the delightful absurdity of it all. The wonderfully silly plot twists and hilarious cases of mistaken identity all work beautifully. The entire cast get it just right with performances that make their unbelievably credulous characters entirely credible. James Simmons as the philandering husband on the verge of exposure is suitably self-serving and lecherous, and Rachel Fielding as his wife strikes just the right tone of gullible and knowing. The other woman, Lianne Harvey's Ginny, radiates the free-spirited 1960s and a delightful desperation as she weaves her web of inventive lies. It is Christopher Bonwell as Greg who has, perhaps, the hardest row to hoe and he does a splendid job! He serves up the perfect foil and naïf to entice the audience into all this madness. Farce is a genre as delicate and difficult to produce as a soufflé. This production is a first-rate concoction. And speaking of food... all of this comes with a wonderful meal at The Mill at Sonning!

 Reviewed by J.C.

  Our Score:  ☆☆☆☆☆ 

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 WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE:
Until April 18, 2020
Tue - Sat: 8:15 pm. Sun: 8:15 pm
Sat: 2:15 pm. Sun: 2:15 pm from March 1
The Mill at Sonning
Nearest station: Reading

 Tickets include a two course meal
Restaurant serving times:
12:15 pm - 2 pm (matinees)
6:15 pm - 8 pm (evenings)
https://millatsonning.com/shows/relatively-speaking/
Map & Location: Sonning Eye, Reading RG4 6TY, UK

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