House and Garden were written as two interlocking plays with the same cast, played in two different theatres at the same time. What Alan Ayckbourn does is to display different aspects of the same characters by placing them in two distinct settings. It is a great technical feat to precisely time the speeches and exits and entrances so that the whole operation runs smoothly. Sadly that was not something we could achieve in the Clavering Village Hall. However, although Garden is filled with lots of frolicking, House is the superior of the two plays. There are a number of story-lines, with a variety of pairs and pairings – Ayckbourn managing to keep the focus just tight enough to avoid complete confusion.

The story takes place during a day in August and centres around a garden fete being held in the country home of Teddy and Trish Platt. Ayckbourn’s theme is love; how easy it is to fail one’s partner, and how difficult it can be to express love directly, without games of evasion and manipulation. I believe it is about exclusion from relationships, targeting a group of diverse people unsuccessfully weaving their way around an allegorical Maypole.

The Cast.

Trish – Judy Curry

Teddy – Mark Anstead

Sally – Lara Anstead

Jake – Charles Harris

Izzie – Melissa Jones

Giles – Peter Clyne

Pearl – Natascha Scott-Reid

Gavin – Keith Philips

Joanna – Clare Anstead

Lucille – Rosie Ward

Fran – Rikky Beck

Lindy – Emma James

Amelia – Amelia James-Phillips

Eva – Eva James-Phillips

Liberty – Liberty Anstead

Warn – Ken Kemp

Director – Jennifer Scott-Reid