There is an obvious reason why Alan Ayckbourn’s 1981 comic allegory is rarely revived: all the action takes place on a floating cabin-cruiser. But, while Nadia Fall’s production and Ben Stones’s design brilliantly solve all the technical issues, this wildly adventurous play has a less easily resolvable problem.
Ayckbourn’s gift for social observation is apparent in the compelling first half, as tensions rise to the surface among a hapless holiday quartet on a river cruise. Keith, a small-factory owner and the boat’s self-appointed skipper, is a fussy despot whose marriage to the sexually dissatisfied June is clearly heading for the rocks. Meanwhile, Keith’s business partner, Alistair, is a compliant wimp who can never fulfill the secret desire of his wife, Emma, for a display of leadership. Everything is perfectly plotted, down to Keith’s dependence on his secretary to bring him daily news of a simmering union dispute at the factory. And when Vince, a charismatic river-bum, turns up to rescue the stranded boat, it looks as if the fun is set to escalate.
In fact, this is where the problems start. Ayckbourn has a genius for creating characters, such as Guy in A Chorus of Disapproval, whose destructiveness lies in their innocent good intentions: he is less persuasive when it comes to exploring a figure of bottomless evil such as Vince turns out to be. Since the boat is heading for Armageddon Bridge, we deduce the play is an allegory, but it becomes hard to work out Vince’s exact place in the scheme of things. Is he simply a modern Satan or, given that the play was written at a time when Britain was in turmoil, is he meant to represent the dangers of ideological extremism? Although the play is clearly intended as a defence of moderation and reason in a world riven with faction and hate, Vince is a symbol who escapes definition.
Despite this central flaw, I admire the play for its reckless daring. As well as capturing the boat’s endless manoeuvres on a water-filled stage, Fall’s production is extremely well acted. Peter Forbes as the hectoring Keith and Sarah Parish as the grumpily decorative June are a perfect mismatch, and Jason Hughes and Jill Halfpenny neatly convey the nervous niceness of Alistair and Emma. It is also no fault of Jason Durr’s that Vince’s transformation from charming rescuer to savage destroyer seems less well anchored.
Delighted as I am to see the piece revived, I still feel Ayckbourn is more at home when sharply observing contemporary mores than writing a quasi-biblical morality play.
• At Chichester Festival theatre, until 16 May. Box office: 01243 781312.
