Dark holiday hijinks kick into gear in Season’s Greetings
Greystone Theatre is getting into the festive spirit with its latest offering, Alan Ayckbourn’s Season’s Greetings. The dark comedy, directed by Pamela Haig Bartley, is about a quirky family’s holiday celebration gone awry.
Jimmy Mayo plays Neville, the distracted husband to Belinda, a woman who wants everything at Christmas to be perfect.
Q Tell me a bit about your role.
A I’m the more down-to-Earth, lighthearted, easygoing guy in the play. I don’t really take things too seriously. I like to hang out with my best friend Eddie and just enjoy the season, which is the opposite to my wife who wants everything perfect and done her way.
Q What happens in the play?
A It’s a lot of wacky and quirky characters getting together. Some of them get along quite well; some of them get along horribly. My sister-in-law Rachel has invited her new boyfriend for the holidays. Things start to go a little wonky when he runs into my wife Belinda.
Q What stands out from the rehearsal process?
A A big thing is the accents. We all had to study received pronunciation, a posh British accent. Doing that so often now outside of class or talking to friends I’ll just slip into a British accent by accident. Also, the show is very choreographed with lots of props. We’re setting up dinner tables, clearing bedrooms, wrapping presents, fixing things. Everyone’s moving in and out of a maze of people and props. It’s cool to be in a show where lots of things are happening at once and there’s so much timing and building off of each other.
Q Were you able to draw on your own family experience to play a member of this group?
A Very much so. I’m a lot like Neville. I’m very easygoing. I like to tinker with things. I try to help, but in my own way. I come from a big family so it’s very easy to draw on that. I have five younger sisters and an older brother. I’m used to the house being always full.
Q What will audiences like about the show?
A I think they’ll like the relationships between the characters and how they play off of each other and the quirkiness of the family dynamic. I think a lot of people will connect that somewhat with their own families. Of course eventually it gets ridiculous in our play and I’m hoping that doesn’t happen in many people’s families.