‘Confusions’ Reigns As Middle School Put On An Ayckbourn Classic!

This will be a collection of three short comic plays, ‘Mother Figure’, ‘Between Mouthfuls’ and ‘Gosforth’s Fete.’

Set in England in the 1970s, Confusions is a play made up of self-contained acts. You may recognise familiar quirks in some or all of the characters – while dialogue sparkles, as you would expect for an Ayckbourn. In Confusions, nothing is as it first appears, each situations has a twist. The characters are illuminating and their conversations enable us to see situations that will make us cringe and laugh at the same time. The different scenes may give you food for thought but they’ll certainly make you laugh!

Pupils involved include:

Mother Figure – Lucy is a mother of two, a house-bound wife who rarely sees her husband Harry; she has reached the point where she barely bothers to look after herself as so much of her time is focussed on the children …

• LUCY – Aisling Tarpey
• TERRY – Rhodri Thornber
• ROSEMARY – Cari Lewis (Weds) / Ella Valentine (Thurs)

Between Mouthfuls – A restaurant where a middle-aged businessman Donald Pearce and his wife, Emma, take a table for dinner. As they make their choices, the Waiter moves away and the dialogue between the Pearces fades out; from this point, we hear only what the Waiter hears when he is within earshot of one of the two tables …

• MR PEARCE – Leon Cresswell (Weds) / Jack Bell (Thurs)
• MRS PEARCE – Nancy Doyle
• MARTIN – James Furneaux-Coton
• POLLY – Saoirse Fitzpatrick
• WAITER – Cai Williams

Gosforth’s Fete – A tea tent being prepared for an afternoon fete into which Councillor Emma Pearce enters and meets Milly, who is organising the tea …

• GOSFORTH – Milo Welch
• STUART – Tom Ashton/ Tom Birch
• MILLY – Lenka Halpin
• VICAR – Will Wilson-Davies
• MRS PEARCE – Craig Whittall

Christ College’s Head of Creative Arts, Mr John Johnson, said: “All of these plays showcase Ayckbourn’s excellent ability in commenting on the absurdity of everyday British life”.

Doors open at 6.30 pm and the performance starts at 7.00 pm.