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"Donkey's Years" at Milton Keynes Theatre. 24 - 29 September 2007 by Mark Niel
Mention Michael Frayn to the theatre-literate and the play that first springs to mind for most is “Noises Off”. This modern classic records how theatre can be more entertaining behind the scenes than on stage and has attained near legendary status especially among those who tread the boards. My expectations were therefore high for the touring production of another of Frayn’s plays, “Donkey’s Years” at Milton Keynes Theatre.
Last year’s revival of the 1977 farce was enthusiastically received by West End audiences and that led to the tour with a new cast (More of them later). I attended the Saturday Matinee which is nearly always a challenging performance. Matinees are rarely full and this means that the cast has to work harder to generate energy and laughs but have to exercise discipline to avoid over-egging the pudding.
The play is set at a 25th year reunion weekend for six former students in their old university college. We meet the undergraduates, now in the middle of (mostly) successful careers, harking back to the simple, happy days of university life where all was lectures, larks and laughs. Ian Lavender (Pike from Dad’s Army) plays the porter Birkett with deferential gravitas and welcomes the prodigal’s home, settling each in their old rooms.
Of course things are never the same if you try to recapture your youth, especially as the once aspiring have now aspired to heavyweight positions in journalism, government and academia. This makes their regression all the more comical. Act One sets the scene and introduces the characters as they arrive for the weekend. Relationships (past and present) are established and it becomes clear that most of the males desired a certain young lady who is now the Master’s wife (deliciously played by Sara Crowe). Most of the men devote their energies to trying to get her to come up to their room for a drink after the banquet. She is desperate to see her lost paramour who is expected but fails to attend the reunion.
In the obligatory plot twist, the now vacant room is given to Snell (a fine comic turn from Norman Pace), who is also returning to his alma mater, but because he never had a room inside the college, is unknown to the others. The action then moves to Snell’s room following an alcohol fuelled banquet where inhibitions are shed, behaviour disintegrates as yet more booze is “liberated” and the Master’s wife enlists help to preserve her clandestine presence in the room.
The play really hits it’s stride after the interval where hungover and suffering from an angonising back injury, cabinet minister Chris Headingly (superbly acted by Mark Hadfield) desperately tries to preserve the dignity and reputation of the Master’s wife who is now in his room dressed in another man’s suit (don’t ask, just accept it!) Of course everyone wants to have a word with the minister: the man looking for his suit; the man looking the Master’s wife; his friends (one of whom is a journalist); the world and his wife conspires to frustrate his noble efforts to save the girl and her reputation. All this played to manic perfection in his pajamas with his dress trousers permanently round his ankles. Mark Hadfield’s performance was a master class in comic timing, pace and increasing hysteria to great comic effect, excellently supported by a strong cast performance. Entrances, exits, line and actions were all perfectly delivered as the mania reaches fever pitch.
I hope it isn’t donkey’s years until we see a show of such quality again in Milton Keynes. |
