PL AYBILL BEDROOM FARCE
bedroom farce alan ayckbourn }{
approximate running time: 2 hour 20 minutes. there will be one 20 min intermission
ARTIST NOTE: DEREK BOYES
Two seasons ago I had the great good fortune to dive in and explore Alan Ayckbourn’s amazing trilogy The Norman Conquests and discover the genius of his writing. All of that brilliance is being unearthed again in our rehearsals for Bedroom Farce. Under director Ted Dyksta’s observant, thoughtful and wonderfully deviant eye, the eight of us who are bed hopping in this wild ride are continually stunned by the depth of dimension Ayckbourn gives these people. It is too easy to classify a “comedy” as a diversion or a trifle that lacks substance but, thanks to the scrutiny a Soulpepper production is allowed, the sure-handed punch that an Ayckbourn comedy contains is able to be unleashed. And what a team we have! I’m always excited to play with actors I have heard fantastic things about but have never shared a room with: Ron; Amy; Caitlin; Alex; and Soulpepper Academy members Gordon and Katherine. And I am particularly thrilled to finally get to
engage with Corrine Koslo whom I have known and admired for 30 years but have never acted with on stage. I’m a very happy camper. derek boyes, Ernest in Bedroom Farce
TIDBITS • B edroom Farce was the first of
Ayckbourn’s plays to be seen at the National Theatre in 1976. It was a huge hit though one critic lambasted it for being “too West End.” (Did he mean too funny? Far too entertaining for the likes of the National?)
• D ownton Abbey regular Penelope Wilton
starred as Delia in a scene from Bedroom Farce as part of PBS’s “Great Performances” series in 2014. It was part of a broadcast called “National Theatre: 50 Years on Stage.”
p roduc t ion s p on sor