Customer Reviews

Three Plays: Absurd Person Singular; Absent Friends; Bedroom Farce

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In our opinion " Absurd person singular " is worth four stars. The relationships of the three couples are presented in a very funny way. The main characters are exaggerated very much. That's why the comedy is funny as well as critical. There is Marion for example who behaves in avery theatrical way, and Jane who is obsessed with cleaning. The reader is disillusioned about marriages and friendships because he realizes that marriages and even friendships aren't always as positive and easy as they first appear to be. Eva's saying:" My existence ended the day he married me " shows this fact in a very clear way. Another aspect is that the reader doesn't really identify with those characters because only types are presented which makes us see the characters critically.

This book is simply three of Ayckbourn's better known plays - essentially the scripts for each of them. In Abusurd Person Singular, the play unfolds over three successive Christmases in the kitchens of three couples; a young couple with a philandering husband, an older middle class gent and his wife, and then the well meaning but to the others awful up and coming property developer. Absent Friends unfolds over afternoon tea where friends gather to console a recent widower over his wife's death by accidential drowning. Socially gormless, the widower exposes simmering tensions and disaffections, leaving them by the end unintentionally but hilariously much the worse for his visit. Bedroom Farce is one of Ayckbourn's best and most well known plays. The set is three bedrooms; a party in one, an invalid in another, and the parents of a guest at the party in the third. Mayhem unfolds as party guests arrive early and a bickering couple resort to blows. Meanwhile, the action hops between the other bedrooms as amongst it all the meaning of true love struggles to explain itself. The plays are short and easy to read, a trove of technique for ambitious writers or anyone interested in theatre. Well worth reading.

Interesting group of plays by Ayckbourne. For me the best one is first and the second is next. Reading the three together one learns a bit about Ayckbourne's continuing themes, selection of characters and playwrighting techniques. It is interesting to realize how very serious much of the writing is when on stage the plays perform as great farces and comedies. Quite a good learning experience.

I needed this play book for an audition. The library had a couple that were checked out and I realized they would probably not be back in until it was too late. The book was delivered very quickly and is in excellent shape. I didn't get the part but there are two more plays included and one of those may also be produced at some point so I got a good deal.

In our opinion " Absurd person singular " is worth four stars. The relationships of the three couples are presented in a very funny way. The main characters are exaggerated very much. That's why the comedy is funny as well as critical. There is Marion for example who behaves in avery theatrical way, and Jane who is obsessed with cleaning. The reader is disillusioned about marriages and friendships because he realizes that marriages and even friendships aren't always as positive and easy as they first appear to be. Eva's saying:" My existence ended the day he married me " shows this fact in a very clear way. Another aspect is that the reader doesn't really identify with those characters because only types are presented which makes us see the characters critically.