Communicating Doors

Communicating Doors
By Alan Ayckbourn. Tea Tree Players. Tea Tree Players Theatre, Surrey Downs (SA). April 4-14, 2018

Communicating Doors is Alan Ayckbourn meets Doctor Who on speed.

The premise of the story is simple, but the plot convoluted. Reece, an elderly man, has summoned Poopay, a Dominatrix, to witness the murder confession of his previous two wives. Poopay then travels back 20 years to meet Ruella, Reece’s second wife. Ruella then travels back to meet Jessica, Reece’s first wife. From then on, a number of people time travel back and forward to prevent the two murders.

Communicating Doors is Ayckbourn’s 46th play and possibly one of his trickiest to stage. It requires clever set design, convincing age makeup and a talented cast to pull it off.

Tea Tree Players are well known for presenting farce and this play is a departure, with liberal amounts of comedy but some tender moments of pathos as well.

Samuel Creighton’s direction is tight, insightful and makes what could have been a confusing play for the audience to follow a pleasure to watch. It is a tribute to his leadership that the cast were so confident in their delivery of lines and characterisation.

David Kinna’s Julian is suitably evil and menacing. The maniacal look in his eyes in his scenes with Poopay is unnervingly frightening.

Lisa Wilton’s Poopay is world-wise but with a heart. Her character develops during the play and forms a close bond with the audience. Her last scene is particularly memorable.

Richard Hobson delivers a totally believable performance as the 70-year-old Reece. His scenes with Poopay at the beginning of the play are both hysterical and heart rending. Convincing elderly voices are hard for any young actor to master but Hobson does not miss a beat. It is some of the best work I have seen from him.

Frank Cwiertniak’s Harold is a scream. Cwiertniak underplays the character nicely and his droll sense of humour had me chuckling from start to finish. The ‘older’ Harold, complete with glossy grey wig, reminded me of Benny Hill at times.

Hannah Doyle’s Jessica is seemingly naive at the beginning of the play, but we soon learn she is not as innocent as she seems. It is a strong performance and she complements Reece’s first wife Ruella nicely.

As convincing as these characters are, the play belongs to, and is relentlessly driven by, Chris Galipo as Ruella. Running the gamut of emotions, she nails every laugh line while consuming large amounts of alcohol. I particularly enjoyed her dig at the atonal composer Arnold Schoenberg and the window scene with Poopay. Act 1 is long, but thanks to Galipo’s pace and energy it rolls along effortlessly.

Tea Tree Players are famous for their box sets, but this is no ordinary box set thanks to the scenic design and art work of Damon Hill. Suite 647 at the 5-star Regent Hotel in London is plush, elegant and leaves lots of room for the action. The actual communicating doors are impressive as are the little changes for different periods, both outside the windows and the art work on the walls.

Lighting and sound play an important part in making the communicating doors work effectively and Robert Andrews’ lighting and sound were spot on.

Amanda Boyle’s age make-up skills, Danni Fulcher’s vocal coaching and Jo Allenby and the Monday Club’s costumes add the final touches that enrich the play.

All in all, Communicating Doors is a highly entertaining night that had me laughing and with a little tear in my eye at the conclusion.

Barry Hill

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