(LEONIA, NJ) -- Players Guild of Leonia, founded in 1919, presents the hilarious comedy, Bedroom Farce, at the Civil War Drill Hall Theatre over three weekends, starting Friday, January 20, and closing on Sunday, February 5th. Bedroom Farce, written by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn, takes place in the bedrooms of three married couples during one very long night.
Ernest and Delia are celebrating their wedding anniversary after many, many years of marriage; newlyweds Malcolm and Kate are gearing up to host a party in their new ‘love nest’; while Nick and Jan are trying to cope with Nick’s recent back injury which has left him stuck in bed while Jan goes to Malcolm and Kate’s party without him.
Each couple’s relationship has problems, but they are all tested when Trevor and Susannah’s dysfunctional, miserable marital issues are inflicted upon them …. in their own bedrooms! Leaving a wave of destruction behind them as they lament on the state of their marriage, Trevor and Susannah ruffle beds, tempers, and routines to try and find their way back to each other. Hilarious, touching, and fast paced, Bedroom Farce is one Ayckbourn’s funniest plays.
Bedroom Farce stars Edward Fiore and Gilda Bettini as Ernest and Delia; Mark Leland and Nichole Vaiknoras as Nick and Jan; Jeff Parsons and Jessa Blackthorne as Malcolm and Kate; and Peter Vaiknoras and Caity Brown as Trevor and Susannah. The production is directed by Claudia MacDermott, and produced by Rebekah Diller and Ralph Martinez. Costumes by Diane Arabella, props by Art Penque and Lois Corwin, set design and construction by Stephen Moldt, lighting design by Allan Seward, sound design by Robert Klein, and Suzanne Renaud serving as the Stage Manager.
Performances are 8:00pm Fridays and Saturdays, and 3:00pm on Sundays. Tickets are available for purchase online. Tickets are $25 for Adults, $22 for Seniors and Students. The Civil War Drill Hall Theatre is located at 130 Grand Avenue in Leonia, New Jersey.
Director Claudia MacDermott describes the show: “It has been said that dying is easy, but comedy is hard. Whoever said it must have known whereof they spoke. To make it good, to make it real, you have to play real people who find themselves in challenging life situations. Playing the truth of the situations – that’s where the comedy is revealed. And challenging life situations is what playwright Alan Ayckbourn has written here. Three couples who are in varying stages of marriage and happiness find their lives rather upended by a fourth couple who seems to live on the edge of catastrophe. We all have friends like these, or cousins, or neighbors. The catalyst here is the messy, crazy relationship of man child Trevor and his neurotic wife Susannah. Their arrival on any scene engenders anger, disruption and sheer chaos for those they descend upon. Ayckbourn is a famous, prolific English playwright; we are playing his wonderful characters as Americans with a few words changed here and there to be understood by us as an American audience. Therefore, we have traded pilchards for herring! The people, the situations – they are universal. We shall all laugh because they are close enough to reality for us to say 'yes, I know these people and I have been there!'”
Players Guild of Leonia no longer requires audience members to show proof of vaccination to enter the theatre. Audience members are strongly encouraged to be vaccinated. Masks are not required, but strongly encouraged while inside the theatre. Masks will be available free of charge at the ticket counter.
