Windsor Theatre Royal (studio)
15 February 2017 (released)
18 February 2017
When Alan Ayckbourn's wife first read Henceforward in 1987, she was alarmed by its bleakness. This is certainly a dark portrayal of a dystopian near future. It has an Orwellian shadow and it has probably inspired Charlie Brooker for some of his Black Mirror futures.
The set is deliberately bleak, with the play entirely taking place in one room of the boarded up flat of lead character Jerome (played by Bill Champion). Technology's perceived advances are at the heart of this, with Jacqueline King playing a house cleaning robot. There's only so much funny walking you can take though and thankfully her involvement is relatively small in the first act. Instead it's Laura Matthews' slightly wild portrayal of 'escort' Zoe that is the centrepiece. The on the edge performance is given context by the second part of the play where her transformation is terrific.
More than a reflection on whether humans or robots are more reliable though, this is perhaps an insight into Ayckbourn's guilt at having borrowed so many friends and acquaintances' characteristics for previous works. This was apparently written at a time when he felt bad about all the conversations he had from people asking about whether they had inspired a certain character. Jerome samples people's speech to compose his music and the metaphor for Ayckbourn's overt borrowing is hard to ignore.
The play involves Jerome's bid to regain access to his daughter Geain (pronounced Jane, which is the centre of one the best gags of the night). Act 2 introduces his estranged wife and daughter as the cast gets fully involved, with child custody officer Mervyn making a visit too. It's a part that sees Nigel Hastings stretch the over acting a little too far, but there are some very funny moments.
This is a play that makes you laugh and think but for some, the bleak Ayckbourn future might be just a little too off beat. However, the performances are slick and the production impressive and it's good too see the Theatre Royal putting on more than the standard thrillers.
