Never before has a play so aptly lived up to its name. For something billed as a "dark comedy" one might expect a smile or two but sadly this was too much to ask.
However it would be wrong to say that this play was devoid of jokes. There was one - a one-liner referring to the fact that the same actress played the part of several girlfriends one of the characters had over the 12 years of the play.
Said joke did raise a titter, but not until re-told on the way home.
I have no quarrel with the cast. Nor with the length of the play. Indeed, at the interval I was amazed to find I had been sitting for 50 minutes. And as the cast took their bows at the end I was flabbergasted to find the play had finished. It didn't even seem to have started.
Perhaps this is where Ayckbourn's skill lies - to show you something without boring you but at the same time studiously avoiding either entertaining or challenging you! If so, his is a true talent. And to call this 'bland' is like calling the Niagara Falls 'slightly wet'.
It's just that I may as well have spent the evening watching "Take me out" or "America's Next Top Model".
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