Bedroom Farce (Canberra REP) - Review
Delia:
“One reads between the lines, darling... You can tell a great deal from people's bedrooms.”
When my mother asked "would you like to see Bedroom Farce at REP tonight?" out of the blue, I thought about the prospect of starting the year off the right way with a return to the wonderfully welcome arms of the REP Theatre and a production of a warm comedy to bring it all together. So, of course, along I went (shrugging off the uneasy feeling brought about by my mother suggesting us doing anything social together) expecting a grand time. And, sure enough, the cast and crew delivered a night of well-measured, sublime comedy.
Director Aarne Neeme, assisted by Assistant Director Ariana Barzinpour, has staged a quaint production of Alan Ayckbourn's subtle comedy. The majority of the play's humour is found in the discussions that take place within; these dialogues are paced briskly by Neeme, who clearly recognises the need to keep the play's pace up, so as to maintain both a freshened sense of fun, and a kinetic energy that renders a play that is mainly dialogue-centric into a comically lively piece of theatre. Neeme directs with a controlled hand, dividing the action between three set pieces, each one purposefully placed in sequence so as to flow the cleanest it can between each one. The action is also suitably contained as it shifts, keeping the audience attention occupied, yet focused, rendering any gags, no matter how small, impossible to miss.
Neeme has assembled a fine company of actors to portray the amusing roster of lovers, each with a unique presence as their company becomes entangled. The play starts with Pat Gallagher's Ernest and Sally Rynveld, and a finer start, I couldn't imagine. Both Gallagher and Rynveld have a natural chemistry, brought out further by their exceptionally amusing interactions that help establish what the play's central topics will centre around. The pair play off each other wonderfully, with Gallagher's stoic obliviousness and Rynveld's opulent complaining bringing wonderful comedic levity, and resulting in performances that both set the mood wonderfully, while also contributing to the nonsense to come.
Azerie Cromhout offers a well-balanced performance as Jan, her naturalness further exemplary as she continues to perform with a leg injury. Cromhout is wonderfully irritable in the role, constantly caught between the shallow displays of competition by the idiotic men she is surrounded by at any given moment. Met with the challenge of being bedridden for 90% of the show's duration, Rob de Fries exudes an delightful aura of spiteful agony as Nick, stealing scene after scene in his efforts to ensure his back pains are registered by the audience, much to their delight. Special mention must go to his physical chops in the more slapstick moments of his performance, including an apparently unchoreographed crotch-shot that de Fries took in stride.
Lachlan Abrahams is charmingly likable in the role of Malcolm, with delightful dual sides of child-like good-naturedness and ear-splitting anger, while also displaying an earnest chemistry with his equally likable co-star, Antonia Kitzel, whose gradual perplexity at the insanity enveloping her household is endlessly entertaining to watch. As the resident cataclysmic couple, and the only two who do not have a room in the set, James Grudnoff's bohemian buffoon Trevor and Lara Connelly's neurotic ninny Susannah are extraordinary foils to their surrounding cast, properly turning any space they inhibit on its head and subjecting both audience and fellow cast to the disaster of their relationship, to hilarious effect.
The rest of the creatives at work contribute in spades to the subtle brilliance of the production. Andrew Kay's set is perhaps the most ingenious contribution of the lot, the set being three distinct bedrooms. Each rooms feels intimately homely and pleasant, fitting the couples that inhabit them respectfully, until the interference of Trevor and Susannah (and other farcical miscommunications), who render the spaces delightfully claustrophobic and at the whims of the social misgivings. Mike Moloney's lighting design is, likewise, homely and appropriate, not to mention exceptionally dynamic when moving between the scenes. James McPherson's sound design is punctual and well-balanced, with well timed doorbells and phone rings ensuring actors were never left waiting around. And, to round it all out, Cate Clelland's terrific costume design, coupled with Mandy Brown's properties and set dressing, kept things charmingly in period and ensured both cast and set were dressed to impress.
A charming cast, exceptional production design, and an infusion of a wonderful sense of humour, REP's A Bedroom Farce is an absolute winner. If you're looking for a light-hearted start to the 2026 theatrical year, there's no better place to look. Grab yourself a ticket, and enjoy a grand old time; it's a delightful farce, not to be missed!
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