Ginny is a young woman who has had an affair with Philip, an older, married man. But now she is with Greg, and she decides she must clear away all evidence of her former relationship. So she tells Greg that she must make a trip to visit her parents, and heads for the country house of her former lover. Unfortunately for her, the house is not empty as expected, and then Greg shows up, having decided it would be great to meet her parents. Ginny is frazzled, Philip is plotting, Sheila (his wife) is baffled, and Greg is semi-oblivious. There are comings and goings and mistaken identities and confused relationships, and it is the perfect audience antidote to the summer doldrums.
Alan Ayckbourn is a prolific and highly respected playwright, whose works (70 full plays, and over 20 other revues and plays for children) have spanned some forty years. Artistic Director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, he also spent two years as visiting director at London’s National Theatre. More than half his plays have gone on from their premieres in Scarborough to be produced in the West End or at the National Theatre. At one point, Ayckbourn held the record for having the most professional productions of his work being performed simultaneously in the West End. His work has been translated into more than 40 languages and his plays are regularly performed throughout the world. Generally speaking, Ayckbourn writes about men and women, their relationships and their general inability to live with each other. His work is also characterized by his constant willingness to experiment with stage time and space, which led the renowned critic Michael Billington to label him as one of the few British playwrights to be constantly pushing the envelope of theatre.
Relatively Speaking, which was originally titled Meet My Father, premiered in Scarborough in 1965, going on to be produced in London in 1967. In his introduction to the play, Ayckbourn notes, “I suppose I am extremely lucky, writing for a small theatre company as I did for so many years, to have had to fight all the limitations of a small theatre – there is no sharper lesson for a dramatist than to find himself sharing a dressing-room with an actor for whom he has written an impossible quick change. I wrote this play originally as a result of a phone call from the late Stephen Joseph. He asked me then simply for a play which would make people laugh when their seaside summer holidays were spoiled by the rain …”
Relatively Speaking, directed by Jim Covault, was first presented by Stage West in 1988, and it was a major audience favorite. This production will reunite the acclaimed cast from last season’s popular Kiss Me Like You Mean It, with Jerry Russell as the devious Philip, Judy Keith appearing as sharper-than-she-seems Sheila, and Dana Schultes and Justin Flowers as young lovers Ginny and Greg.
The apartment-to-garden set will be designed by director Covault, with appropriate lighting by Michael O’Brien. Contemporary costume design is by Jim Covault and Peggy Kruger-O’Brien.
Relatively Speaking will preview Friday, August 4 at 8:00 and Saturday, August 5 at 3:00, and will run through Sunday, August 27 in the intimate Sanders Theatre at the Community Arts Center at 1300 Gendy St. in Fort Worth. Performance times will be Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00pm, with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3:00pm. The opening night reception will follow the performance on Saturday, August 5. Tickets are $20 for the evening performances and $16 for the matinees, with discounts for students and seniors. “Pay-What-You-Can” performances will be Friday, August 4 at 8:00 and Saturday, August 12 at 3:00. Tickets and information are available through the box office at (817) STG-WEST (784-9378), or on the Stage West website.
