A lot of great comedy has stemmed from the dysfunctional, bizarre family genre. Shows that instantly come to mind are the Addams Family and Meet The Fockers. It is this rich genre that the brilliant British playwright Noel Coward, known for good reason as the Master, mines with his evergreen 1925 comedy HAY FEVER .
The Bliss family, (yes, there is some irony in the name), comprises four members. Vain father David(Christopher Gale) is a successful novelist who spends most of his time bunkered down in his studio writing his next gaudy romantic novel which is nearing completion.
Mother Judith (Elizabeth MacGregor) was a much loved actress who retired early and has been sorely missing it. The start of the play sees her in conversation with her two grown up children, Simon (Harry Charlesworth) and Sorel (Zoe Wilson) and telling them that she is planning to return to the stage soon in a well crafted, popular melodrama. The three of them improvise a scene.
Conversation then turns to the fast approaching weekend. The Bliss family want a quiet one, at least that is what they say. There is just a bit of a hiccup. It comes out that, unknowingly, all four of them have invited their own guest for the weekend. It’s just a bit squeezy considering that they have only one spare room, curiously known as the Japanese room.
The Bliss’s four guests arrive; Richard (Simon Pearce) a well regarded diplomat, Jackie (Laura Wallace), a flapper who is ditzy enough to think that David is a great writer, young Sandy (Yusuf Nayir) who is a big fan of Judiths, and the vampish Mrs Myra Arundel (Karys Kennedy). There is a mutual lack of appreciation thing going on between Judith and Myra.
The play is perfectly set up for high comedy and satire which Coward delivers with the four guests merely being playthings for the Bliss family’s outrageous behaviour.
All of the performances were good. There was good comic physicality in the performances with each actor giving their own little quirkiness and affectations to their roles. Elizabeth MacGregor gave the performance of the night as drama queen Judith who in real life has never left the stage. I particularly enjoyed the performances of Zoe Wilson as Sorel and Harry Charlesworth as Simon, two spoilt adult children, who treat everything with precious little seriousness, and Roslyn Hicks as Judith’s former dresser who was now the family’s laconic housemaid.
The show has been well directed by Jason Darlington, (with Ali Bendall as his able Assistant), who in his program note says that he has seen many productions of Coward’s plays, both professional and community, and has relished the opportunity to put his own stamp on one of the Master’s classic comedies. The staging and timing were first rate.
Production values were good. The period set by Jason Darlington, Gregory George and Peter Curtis, was impressive and finely detailed. Susan Carveth’s period costumes were plush and lovely to look at. Cian Byrne lit the stage well. The director looked after the soundscape with some twenties music.
This show was a feather light, fun experience. The Genesian Theatre Company’s production of HAY FEVER plays the Genesian Theatre, 420 Kent Street, city until the 20th July 2024.
Featured image : The cast of Hay Fever : Back row Left to right Karys Kennedy, Roslyn Hicks, Yuzuf Nayir, Simon Pearce and Harry Charlesworth. Front row Left to right Elizabeth MacGregor, Christopher Gale, Zoe Wilson and Laura Wallace
https://www.genesiantheatre.com.au
