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You are here: Home / Arts / Review: Relatively Speaking – Chandler’s Ford Chameleon Theatre Company

Review: Relatively Speaking – Chandler’s Ford Chameleon Theatre Company

July 22, 2015 By Ben Williams 4 Comments

Over the past month or so I have been helping out with the Chameleon Theatre Company, after seeing several of their shows.

I learnt how to work with the lights and sound effects for the show from Lionel Elliott and Rebecca Nye. Last Sunday I saw the full dress rehearsal as I will be unable to help during the actual show due to holiday-itis. So treat this review like a film review when the film critics go to see the show early.

Without further ado, here is my review of Relatively Speaking, written by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn, and performed by the Chameleons, at Ritchie Memorial Hall, Chandler’s Ford.

Ritchie Memorial Hall, Hursley Road, Chandler's Ford.
Ritchie Memorial Hall, Hursley Road, Chandler’s Ford.

Misdirection, misunderstanding, and deceit

The plot is like a Shakespeare plot in that it relies on misdirection, misunderstanding, and deceit. Greg and Ginny are a young couple who are going to get married. Ginny says she will visit her parents and tells Greg not to go with her, but he does anyway. That’s the basic plot, and it escalates into a funny plot with a lot of lying and characters unintentionally making the situation worse.

Relatively Speaking by Chandler's Ford Chameleon Theatre Company 2015

One thing to note is that this play has a much smaller cast compared to the other previous ones, such as Fawlty Towers, The Wizard Of Oz, and The Ladykillers.

(From left to right): Matthew Meehan, Marilyn Dunbar, Naomi Scott, and Nick Coleman.
(From left to right): Matthew Meehan, Marilyn Dunbar, Naomi Scott, and Nick Coleman.

In Relatively Speaking, there are only four characters and two locations so the dialogue and characters can be more focused on the misdirection of the plot.

Relatively Speaking, a comedy by the Chameleons.
Relatively Speaking, a comedy by the Chameleons.

The play is built upon lies and characters slowly gaining more information about the situation. There are many hilarious scenes where the characters are oblivious to information that the audience knows. It is a good example of dramatic irony, which can be used for both comedy and drama in film, TV and plays. The uses of dramatic irony in this provides some of the biggest laughs in the whole play.

Any villain in the play?

The four main characters, the only characters, are all similar in that they all lie and deceive each other, yet none of the characters are the villain and none of them are bad. They just want to achieve their own goals and they try to do this by dragging the other characters into their plans. There are many hilarious one liners and moments of practical comedy.

The play is very clever in its execution and slowly unraveling more misunderstandings and hijinks. The characters are often victims of their own tricks and all of them are very dumb at points, making it very funny to see the characters fail to understand the situation.

Relatively Speaking the cast Chameleons July 2015

Overall this play is very funny and clever. If you want to know how to write a comedic script, this is a good play to learn some basics. I highly recommend this to everyone, although I don’t think younger children will understand it very well. Anyone 13 or above will enjoy it.

Relatively Speaking

The four characters are:
Greg – Matthew Meehan
Ginny – Naomi Scott
Philip – Nick Coleman
Sheila – Marilyn Dunbar

Director: Lorraine Biddlecombe

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Fawlty Towers Chameleon Theatre Company Chandler's FordComing to Town: Fawlty Towers by Chameleon Theatre Company Fawlty Towers Chameleon Theatre Company Chandler's FordReview: Fawlty Towers by Chameleon Theatre Company Best of Chandler’s Ford Today: Top 12 Theatre Reviews Review of Relatively Speaking by epicduda.Another Triumph for Chameleon Theatre Company Review: Dracula by Chameleon Theatre Company
Tags: arts and crafts, Chameleon Theatre, Chandler's Ford, community, entertainment, event, Hursley Road, local interest, review, Ritchie Memorial Hall

About Ben Williams

Ben is studying film and English at University of Southampton. He writes cool stuff - science fiction, Doctor Who, film reviews, and history.

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Comments

  1. Ray Fishman says

    July 23, 2015 at 10:43 pm

    An informative review of the plot, well done for this review. It would wet my appetite if I was not already a fan of Chameleons. These performances are a sell out already I believe so watch out for the next shows and book early to avoid disappointment. Chameleons go from strength to strenth.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Another Triumph For Chandler's Ford Chameleon Theatre Company says:
    July 24, 2015 at 12:00 pm

    […] Right from the start of Relatively Speaking we were transported back 50 years in this humorous Alan Ayckbourn tale of misunderstandings. […]

    Reply
  2. Best of Chandler’s Ford Today: Top 12 Theatre Reviews - Chandler's Ford Today says:
    September 17, 2015 at 12:16 am

    […] Epicduda: Review: Relatively Speaking – Chandler’s Ford Chameleon Theatre Company […]

    Reply
  3. Review: Dracula by Chameleon Theatre Company - Chandler's Ford Today says:
    November 1, 2015 at 6:45 pm

    […] A while ago Nick Coleman and Liz Strevens from the Chameleons Theatre Company went public to borrow a violin (for their production, The Ladykillers), and a white patio table (for their production, Relatively Speaking). […]

    Reply

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