THE HANGOVER REPORT – Alan Ayckbourn’s masterfully-structured A BRIEF HISTORY OF WOMEN is an unexpected romance

The company of Alan Ayckbourn's "A Brief History of Women" at 59E59 Theaters.

The company of Alan Ayckbourn’s “A Brief History of Women” at 59E59 Theaters.

Last night, I caught Alan Ayckbourn’s latest play – his staggering 81st – at what has become the playwright’s New York base, 59E59 Theaters. The production, one of the center pieces of the invaluable annual Brits Off Broadway festival, comes to town from across the pond courtesy of Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough. Initially, I admit I was a little resistant to its charms. But by the play’s conclusion, what starts off merely as just an amusing, inconsequential farce has morphed into a touching, decades-spanning portrait of a  romance, but not the kind you’d expected.

You might be asking at this point, so why the title? Well, over the course of the years, our unassuming hero Anthony Spates returns repeatedly to the stately country manor of his humble youth (in various capacities) only to find himself forming romantic relationships with women of all sorts. But it’s the steady central relationship between Anthony and the house and its grounds that ultimately turns, for me at least, this structurally masterful (a typical feature of Mr. Ayckbourn’s plays) and wittily-written comedy into a very moving grand romance. It’s a relationship that presents itself very gradually, almost stealthily, quietly turning the play on its head (also typical of Ayckbourn).

The production at 59E59 is directed with a deceptively light touch by the playwright himself. Although I think the play could benefit from a larger playing area (the play’s potential madcap physicality is limited in such tight quarters), Mr. Ayckbourn has skillfully managed to ingeniously cram the play’s many scenes into Theater A’s relatively narrow and shallow stage. His rock solid, very funny cast is led by an understated, deeply human performance by Anthony Eden as Anthony. The rest of the cast – Russell Dixon, Frances Marshall, Laura Matthews, Laurence Pears, Louise Shuttleworth – brilliantly shape shift over the course the evening to play a multitude of vastly disparate characters to amusing effect.

RECOMMENDED

 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF WOMEN
Off-Broadway, Play
Brits Off Broadway: Stephen Joseph Theatre at 59E59 Theaters
2 hours, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Through May 27

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

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