British playwright Alan Ayckbourn, like all good authors, writes works of varying quality, but my experience over the years is that he always comes up with a play well worth watching, and most often, exceptional. Now he’s here again as part of the Brits Off Broadway series, and his “Confusions” is a collection of five interrelated short plays that are ingeniously entertaining, thanks in no small measure to extremely talented cast members who are excellent interpreters of Ayckbourn’s insights and whimsy. There are five of them, but it would seem as if we are seeing 22, given their multiple roles.
This terrific and amazingly versatile ensemble includes Elizabeth Boag, Charlotte Harwood, Stephen Billington, Richard Stacey and Russell Dixon. The variety of characters they play sometimes makes them difficult to recognize as the same individuals who were just seen in a roles so totally different. I salute them all.
The opener is “Mother Figure,” a humorous drama of a feisty but harried woman occupied with household chores and caring for her children, a callous husband, and a woman who arrives on the scene and changes the dynamics.
The second, “Drinking Companion,” involves an unfaithful husband trying to get a woman he wants to bed drunk enough to fall victim to his phony line, but is thwarted by her good sense and the intrusion of a woman friend.
“Between Mouthfuls,” set in a restaurant, features two couples hilariously having their problems at different tables, one on each side of the stage. The man at one table discovers that the older man at the other table is his boss, who has not yet spotted him. The main fun lies in the waiter who must navigate through it all, trying to serve while being thwarted by constant interruptions and making us laugh by looking haughtily at the goings-on.
“Gosforth’s Fête” is especially hilarious. In the midst of preparations for a celebration there is a revelation of a sexual affair over a loud speaker when the foolish man involved doesn’t realize that the mike is on and all is broadcast to the crowd outside, embarrassing his lover no end. Ayckbourn is particularly gifted with such farcical situations and the tone of the actors is calibrated exactly right.
The last play, “A Talk in the Park,” sends us home on a sad note, as lonely people sit around in a park desperately trying to communicate with one another.
The collection of plays contains a gamut of maneuvers, emotions, character observations and relationships that add up to an enjoyable visit to the theater. “Confusions” was developed at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, England, where the playwright has flourished. Thus far he has written an extraordinary output of 79 plays, including the one most noted in New York, “The Norman Conquests.” The Brits Off Broadway series is also presenting his “Hero’s Welcome,” being reviewed separately. At 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street. Phone: 212-279-4200. Reviewed June 9, 2016.