Relatively Speaking is showing at the Wyndham's Theatre where I went to see Quartermaine's Terms (My review of the show). Its a wonderful theatre. For Quartermaine I was sat on the top balcony in the second row to the back. For this performance of Relatively Speaking however I was sat in seat J4 of the Stalls. Although this was right on the end of the row, I still had a fantastic view, as the action all takes place on the centre of the stage. The Stalls seating at the Wyndham's isn't particularly big, only going back to row P (with a few extra seats forming rows Q and R). Certan websights say that this seat isn't good and not worth what you pay. However for this production is was a perfectly good seat.
Alan Ayckbourn wrote the play, in fact Relatively Speaking was his first big hit in the West End. It had it West End premier in March 1967 at the Duke Of York Theatre, almost two years after its first ever performance at the Library Theatre in Scarborough. In fact all but four of his plays have had their first ever performances at the Library Theatre. Interestingly, the original London cast of Relatively Speaking contained an actor for whom the role massively helped his carer. His name was Richard Briers. Richard shot to TV fame playing Tom Good in The Good Life. His Wife in the TV show was played by Felicity Kendal, who plays Sheila in the current production on Relatively Speaking.
As with most of Ayckbourn's plays, Relatively Speaking shows real life, all be it in the extremes. Max Bennett, Kara Tointon, Jonathan Coy and Felicity Kendal all play reality (if that makes sense) exceptionally well. They were all totally believable and that helped draw me, and the rest of the audience, deep into the story. The sets are brilliant and really portray the setting of the play well. Actually, the set of the opening scene reminded me of the University room of one of my friends which really drew me into the lives of the characters.
Kara Tointon is absolutely sublime as Ginny, just as she has been in all her stage roles. She makes such a believable character and I was hooked to following how her character progressed and reacted throughout the show. I felt she stole almost every scene. Max Bennett is also brilliant as Greg. Without being detrimental to his ability, he plays the fool extremely well. He also makes a believable couple with Kara's Ginny. His comic timing is wonderful and he just fits the role perfectly.
Unfortunately however I was disappointed by Jonathan Koy as he was, quite frankly, average. This was a surprise as he has been involved in so many theatre and TV projects. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't terrible, but I expected so much more. I was also disappointed be Felicity Kendal. She was better than Jonathan Koy, however she wasn't as good as I had been expecting. for the first half of the show, Felicity's character, Sheila, got steadily more and more drunk. She played this exceptionally well. The interval cam mid-conversation. Upon returning after the interval only a few moments of time is meant to have passed. Felicity however had seems to have 'sobered up' as it were, and never got back to a similar state in inebriation that shed had got to before. This made her character slightly less believable. I hate to say it, but just like Jonathan Koy, Felicity was unfortunately just average.
This is a comedy for the serious theatre goers as well as the first timers. It's subtle and over the top at the same time. Not one for the younger members of the family, but definitely a good night out. A staple of the London theatre scene that I'm sure will keep coming back onto the stage and will please audiences every time that is does. A good thing to note is that including the interval it only lasted two hours so you can get home at a much more reasonable time than with a lot on West End shows. Tickets and Info
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