Relatively Speaking
by Alan Ayckbourn

Venue: The Forum Studio Theatre

This comedy was Ayckbourn's break-through as a writer. He describes it as "Well constructed" or even "A good old fashioned well made play." If you're looking for a simple, innocuous comedy to laugh at, Relatively Speaking is just for you.
The leading English playwright spins a fine web of misunderstandings in a brilliantly sustained dialogue of cross-purposes.
It's about time Greg met the in-laws. So when his girlfriend rushes off the see her parents in the country he follows.
But what about the strange phone calls, the bath full of flowers and that incriminating slipper under the bed?
With unexpected guests around the table, they all tuck in to an eventful Sunday lunch served with a hilarious helping of hidden secrets, comic confusions and plenty of cracklingts, comic confusions and plenty of crackling!
Relatively Speaking - this is sophisticated farce at its best.

Cast

Sheila: Noella Grace
Phillip: David Crosby
Ginny: Julie Andrew
Greg: Ashley Woods

Production team

Director: Matt Yeoman

Reviews

Les Chamberlain - Wrexham Leader - 20th November 2009

The latest offering by Tip Top Productions, Alan Aykbourne's Relatively Speaking was one of his first which led to him becoming a big name in the theatre world.
It is not one of the funniest and the first screne with the two young lovers is laboured and repetitive as they argue. She is off, eventually, to the home of her older boss with whome she has been having an affair intending to put an end to it. She tells her boyfriend she is going home to see her parents, but in no way wants him to come home.
He sees her "home" address on a packet of cigarettes and decides to follow. The result is confusion all round as the boyfriend thinks the couple are his girlfriends parents, they haven't a clue who he is and the boss's wife sails through it as if it is all natural.
The cast, Ashley Woods, Julie Blagrove, Noella Grace and David Crosby, did extremely well and brought out what little comedy there was extremely well.