Emotions pile up behind ‘Love’s’ veneer of farce
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Bittersweet bite distinguishes “Things We Do for Love,” now receiving an elegant local premiere at the Odyssey Theatre. Virtuoso playwright Alan Ayckbourn’s Olivier-nominated dramedy limns the contradictions of passion with politically incorrect perception.
“Things” rocked London in 1997 and spawned many regional readings, though some observers have found it more disturbing than delightful. However, Ayckbourn’s trademark geometry here applies more to structure than narrative content, and the cynical idiosyncrasies mask acute emotional point.
The play’s cutaway setting, beautifully designed by Don Llewellyn, depicts a converted London townhouse. Its owner is Barbara (Stephanie Nash), who is introduced from the legs down just below the proscenium, where tenant Gilbert (Greg Mullavey) is repairing an upstairs radiator.
Career-driven Barbara is prepping the upper flat for divorced schoolmate Nikki (Caitlin Shannon) and her new fiance, Hamish (James Tupper). He and Barbara have instant, vintage antipathy, while Gilbert, whose basement unit has shoulders-up visibility beneath the stage, harbors disquieting longings for his landlady.
This split-level quadrangle echoes Joe Orton, Noel Coward, Tom Stoppard and, well, Alan Ayckbourn, and that’s how director Barry Philips stages it. His excellent players locate the aching undercurrents beneath the farcical veneer with delicate assurance. Nash’s brittle appeal and precise timing are ideal against Tupper’s rumpled, ambivalent charisma, and their climactic fracas is a knockout.
Shannon’s naif is hilariously touching, and Mullavey underplays his obsessive with Chekhovian economy.
Suzanne Scott’s sly wardrobe and Kathi O’Donohue’s customary ace lighting contribute to a fine design showing. Opening night found even the odd spotty tempo or technical mishap turned to involving advantage.
“Things We Do for Love” may lack the hysteria of Ayckbourn’s masterworks, but its bruised acerbity is wickedly engrossing.
*
‘Things We Do for Love’
Where: Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West L.A.
When: Wednesdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m.; May 16, 30 and June 13, 3 p.m. only. (Mature audiences)
Ends: June 27
Price: $20.50-$25
Info: (310) 477-2055 or https://www.odysseytheatre.com
Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes
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