A BLACK comedy by one of the UK’s most prolific playwrights opens at Rugby Theatre this weekend.
Alan Ayckbourn’s Absurd Person Singular follows the changing fortunes of three couples as their lives begin to unravel.
The ill-fated duos are control freak SIdney and his wife Jane, who takes refuge from life’s complexities through obsessive cleaning; chauvinistic womaniser Geoffrey and his suicidal better half Eva; and Ronald, a banker in severe financial difficulties, with his partner Marion, who is rarely seen sober.
Set in the 1970s and split into three acts, the action takes place in each of the couple’s kitchens, on three consecutive Christmas Eves, with the story growing funnier and increasingly dark as the years progress.
The play’s director Mark Tolchard said: “We see the characters as they want us to see them, and then slowly the masks fall off and we see what’s really going on.
“It’s easy to play for laughs, but one of the best things about Ayckbourn is that the humour comes from the absurdity of the situation. This is black humour at its finest.
“Good comedy always stands the test of time, and if you’ve never seen an Ayckbourn play, this is the one to watch. It pulls on all of your emotions throughout the evening.”
Absurd Person Singular opens on Saturday (September 14) and continues for a seven-performance run until September 21. Visit www.rugbytheatre.co.uk or call 01788 541234 for tickets.
