It’s an unfortunate truth about humanity, but not all of us are always honest.
That’s the hinging plot device that swings Alan Ayckbourn’s Relatively Speaking into action, and will delight and entertain locals who visit the Santa Maria Civic Theatre for its first production of 2016. Opening on Feb. 12, the show is a wonderful British comedy, explained director Alan H. Foster, who first saw the show live in London.
“This is the second play of his that I’ve directed for the Santa Maria Civic Theatre,” Foster said. “I’m a big fan of Alan Ayckbourn, he’s probably the greatest living playwright.”
Those are big words, but Ayckbourn delivers, according to Foster. The style of comedy is decidedly British though, he said.
But what does that even mean? What is “British” comedy, and how is it different from our jokes and japes from across the pond?
“The interesting thing about this show—and what I’ve been telling the cast all along—is it’s a comedy, but there aren’t really any jokes in it, the humor all comes from the situations,” he said. “It’s about a young couple and their relationship, and the sometimes secret relationships going on behind each other’s backs, and so they have all these secrets and it keeps getting more and more absurd as it goes on.”
The young couple is Ginny (Katie Cornell) and Greg (Steven Equiha), who make a visit to Sheila (Kelly Greenup) and Philip (Stuart Wenger), a middle-aged couple. From the beginning of the story, the lies abound.
Ginny tells Greg that she is off to the country to visit her parents—a lie—and so Greg secretly follows her out. What Ginny is really up to is a secret liaison with Philip, her former employer and lover. Philip, of course, has been hiding the affair from Sheila.
In a good-hearted gesture inspired by his attempts to connect with Ginny and her family, Greg shows up in the garden of Philip and Sheila, where the latter is alone tending the flowers. This moment plays into a British comedy tradition, and a satire on British culture really, where one is expected to always save face and never act rude.
“A lot of it is a comedy of manners, it’s really manners that drive the whole plot,” Foster said. “When Greg shows up in Sheila’s garden, she has no idea who he is or why he is there, but she’s too polite to ask him, so she goes along with it.”
The four characters grapple with their lies, their manners, and even their class distinction, Foster explained, as the truth comes out piece by piece.
All the actors in the show, with exception of Equiha, are Santa Maria Civic Theatre veterans who have performed an Ayckbourn work before. Equiha is a recent high school grad hoping to audition for PCPA, and plays the boyishly innocent Greg quite well, Foster commented.
Greenup, Wenger, and Cornell all have more than a little experience with British accents and the particular type of humor the show calls for. It’s very personality driven, Foster said, and the limited cast makes for a small ensemble piece full of conflict and character.
“I told the actors, ‘The key is, you have to play the characters like real people and the laughs will come,’” Foster said. “They shouldn’t expect to go up there and tell jokes and be funny—it’s the crazy plot and these real people reacting to it that makes it funny.
“It’s really an ensemble piece, there’s no star of the show,” he added. “It’s a lot of fun to see these four people who have grown into an ensemble and are going to put on a terrific show.”
Arts Editor Joe Payne finds real people the funniest. Reach him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 11-18, 2016.
