Sep 5, 20243 min read

Review: Bedroom Farce (Queens Theatre Hornchurch)

Review by Izzy Tierney

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Queen's Theatre in Hornchurch is a wonderful discovery - fully accessible, has delicious food and drink and boasts a team of helpful, friendly staff. The latest production playing there is Bedroom Farce, a comedy written in 1975 by Alan Ayckbourn that has been revived many times over the years. However, in the five decades since these four couples and three bedrooms were first introduced, they've begun to show their age.

Set in the 1970s, Bedroom Farce follows four couples over the course of one night and morning as they wreck each other's chances of ever getting some sleep. Delia and Ernest are going to dinner to celebrate their wedding anniversary; Kate and Malcolm are throwing a housewarming party; Jan and Nick are supposed to be attending said party but Nick has hurt his back and is unable to go; Susannah and Trevor, Jan's ex-boyfriend and son of Delia and Ernest, are having marital problems and decide to drag that baggage with them to the party until they've caused rifts in every other marriage too.

We never see Susannah and Trevor's room but the other three bedrooms are on display at all times. It's a simple set up but an effective one that ensures the intimacy of the show is truly felt and not lost to the vastness of the stage. A particularly enjoyable part of Alys Whitehead's design was the visibility of the large lighting equipment on the stage. Whether intentional or not, it gave the impression of a TV show set, as if the audience was watching a 70s sitcom being recorded which suited the vibe of the show.

The undercurrents of the show, however, are not so well suited to the modern day. Whilst the overall themes of love, communication and the challenges that come with long term relationships will always be relevant and relatable, some of the material within that is very outdated. At a time where there is so much new theatre being created by women and those in the LGBTQ+ community, the predictable portrayal of stereotypical relationships felt a little tedious.

That said, this show is very clearly full of heart and littered with joy with plenty of scenes that I laughed at, but there were also lines that didn’t sit so well with me, and not in the good kind of slapstick way. One example is a conversation where two characters talk about how girls liking girls is not normal. My issue is not the homophobia itself - that exists in fiction just as it exists in the real world, and that attitude is accurate for a play set in the 70s. My issue is that it was completely irrelevant to the plot, so I question the necessity of including it. Reviving older plays can absolutely be a good thing, but sometimes it doesn't hurt to tweak them a bit for a modern audience.

Despite the material often being a product of its time, the eight person cast is a strong one. Every actor bursts with energy, but it was Rosie Wyatt as Kate and Nicholas Prasad as Malcolm who really stood out to me. Their comedic timing and chemistry was a joy to watch and I found myself laughing a lot during their scenes and ended up rooting for their characters. Presumably a last minute change meant Adam Sopp performed as Trevor with his script in hand, though his performance was still great.

As a younger viewer, it’s important to recognise that I may not be the target audience for Bedroom Farce. It's a play that can definitely be enjoyed by someone of any age, but on the whole is going to be much more appreciated by older generations who love the nostalgia this kind of comedy brings. For that purpose, Bedroom Farce hits the mark, proven by the many older audience members who laughed regularly and wholeheartedly throughout the show. Their enjoyment created a fun atmosphere in the theatre which was lovely to be a part of and left me in a great mood after. I just can't help but wish this play had been revamped instead of revived.