It’s laughs and laughs in this family
Drayton cast is outstanding in this farce
DRAYTON — It is possible to laugh so hard that one’s facial muscles start to contort, eyes close and tears flow. That is what happened to me Thursday night at the opening of Drayton Festival Theatre’s “It Runs in the Family.”
It’s difficult to be a serious theatre reviewer when one’s body reacts to comedy in such a bizarre manner, but then it’s also impossible not to laugh yourself silly at this British farce by Ray Cooney.
Farces are all pretty much the same. There is a ridiculous story line with nutty, unbelievable characters, a lot of frantic soor-slamming, mistaken identity, lying, coverups and pratfalls. There is also a healthy dose of sexual innuendo. Farce is one of those bits of entertainment that forces you to forget the sometimes serious world of theatre and just laugh until your belly hurts.
Of course all this is only possible with the right cast and the Drayton production, directed by Alex Mustakas, is top notch.
Set in a hospital at Christmas, the comedy opens as the pretentious Dr. Mortimore, played by Rob McClure, is in the doctor’s lounge rehearsing an important speech, one that could lead to a promotion or even a knighthood. He is nervous but then begins a slew of pesky interruptions; his wife has shown up early, the hospital’s chair, Sir Willoughby Drake is demanding to vet the speech, two delinquent doctors are rehearsing for the hospital’s Christmas panto (play) and a senile patient thinks the lounge is his new room. Then there is a confused but determined police offer, a crabby matron, a nun, a grandmother, a troubled teenager and his mother. It’s the boy’s mother that launches the insanity when she bursts into the room to confide that Dr. Mortimore has a son he knew nothing about from the affair they had 18 years earlier. Oh, and by the way, the boy is downstairs waiting to meet him.
Well it’s pretty hard to concentrate on a speech when all this is going on. But the good doctor is, if nothing else, in denial.
At the base of this story is Mortimore’s determination to keep the teenager secret from his wife, given he was married during the affair. He invents lie upon lie, each one more outrageous than the last and he manages to suck in his pal, Dr. Hubert Bonney, played brilliantly by Drayton favourite, Eddie Glen. The audience went quite mad during the standing ovations when Glen came out for a bow.
The actor is deliciously funny and brings the entire comedy level up a notch by his antics. That is not to say the other cast members are weak, they are not.
Nicholas Rice as Sir Willoughby has all the authority of a puffed up aristocrat who is used to getting his own way. Rice captures this character perfectly. Ken James Stewart plays the young Dr. Mike Connolly, who might have passed medical school but never quite outgrew his adolescent shenanigans.
Mary Pitt as Matron, or chief nurse, embodies this character. Matron is set in her ways and won’t be pushed around by any self-important doctor and though she seems uptight, there is a point where the old girl unleashes her lustful side. This is where my facial muscles lost all control.
David Talbot as the very funny senile patient Bill keeps a running gag going throughout the production as he becomes the single observer to all this madness.
Gregory Pember as the teenager Leslie, is filled with typical teenage contradictions as he searches for his father. One minute Leslie is thrashing around like a soccer hooligan, the next rumpling into a puddle of tears. This is not an easy role to play given all the emotions, but Pember manages just fine.
With a cast of 11 all playing wildly dysfunctional characters, there is a lot hyperactivity. It wouldn’t be surprising if at the end of the three-week run, they all need a holiday. And a stiff drink.