“JUST  BETWEEN   OURSELVES” 

by Alan Ackbourn

Directed by Keith Neville
5-8 May 2010  

This is one of  Ayckbourn’s blackest but most hilarious comedies. Written and produced in 1977 it depicts Dennis who spends almost the whole of his spare time messing about in his untidy garage, blandly indifferent to the fact that his wife, Vera, is being driven to distraction and beyond by his possessive and jealous mother, Marjorie, who is slowly undermining her both physically and mentally.

To a caller, Neil, who wants a car for his own wife Pam’s birthday, Dennis tries to sell a much neglected model which stubbornly refuses to perform when he tries to demonstrate it.

Each scene occurs on the birthday of one of the characters, but the comedy becomes increasingly sharp and ironic as the action darkens. The two men form a vague sort of companionship which merely aggravates the resentment and frustration of the two wives. With the mother ever ready to stir up trouble, the hidden tension and antagonisms under an apparently normal surface build up to a climax of bizarre violence and madness. Ayckbourn can sometimes be cruel but we all recognise people we know in this wonderful suburban comedy. A true classic of the British Theatre.

             C Just Between Ourselves