Country Life

Once more to the Camden Fringe and RADA's George Bernard Shaw theatre for the first night of an intriguing two-act play by my Player-Playwrights friend and colleague Peter Briffa.  It's a sophisticated black comedy about two elderly men and one elderly woman set in a quiet Devon village.  Having read the play a year or two ago on the page and having heard a staged reading, I felt it gained a huge amount in a three-dimensional stage performance.  What I like about the play is that it keeps the audience guessing and springs a number of surprises.  Opening the door of the woodshed and finding something nasty isn't wholly original, but this play is a long way ahead of Agatha Christie or its modern equivalent Midsomer Murders.  It's a subtle play about relationships, with the difference that three characters are all over 70, and none of them is quite what they appear to be.  The originality of the writing lies in the fact that it shows a world where sexual desire has faded but emotions and needs are still strong;  the old aren't necessarily any wiser or better than the young, and can make similar mistakes.  But the baggage of their past lives restricts their ability to act freely.  Marji Campi, David Forest and Chris Bearne play the trio and Paul Blinkhorn directs. Some of the acting on Monday night was a bit hesitant and the production could have benefited from more rehearsal time to bring out the comedy, the moments of conflict and tension and the ambiguity of the characters.