Review: Things We Do For Love at the Churchill Theatre Bromley

Things We Do For Love 
Churchill Theatre Bromley
Reviewed on Monday 9th June 2014

Things We Do For Love contains all the necessary ingredients of a hysterical Alan Ayckbourn play. Set in South West London, immaculate Barbara lives on the middle floor of her converted house which is where most of the action unfolds. Gilbert, the postman and resident handyman, lives in the flat downstairs, with the clever design allowing the audience to just see the top few inches of his home.

Nikki, Barbara's old school-friend, and her fiancé Hamish need somewhere to stay for a few days so end up temporarily moving into Barbara's upstairs flat, with the design only showing the bottom few inches of the room (you can just see the characters' feet). Perhaps in writing the design sounds complicated, but it's very clever and highly effective when in action.

Ayckbourn has written the four contrasting characters superbly. I don't want to spoil any of the twists or turns of the plot, but with a dinner party planned there is plenty of opportunity for things to go wrong and bonds to be made and broken…

Claire Price is the star of the show as Barbara who is a fantastically strong minded female role. Natalie Imbruglia is suitably annoying in her stage debut as Nikki. There is more to the role than first meets the eye and Imbruglia gives a sturdy performance. 

I love almost all of Ayckbourn's plays because underneath the laughs and comedy there are always more serious themes, and Things We Do For Love is no exception. At first the four characters appear perfectly harmless, but as the piece progresses we learn of their flaws and, by the time it concludes, they all have skeletons in their closets.

Laurence Boswell's production looks great, provides plenty of laughs and also gives you something to think about. The cast are hard to fault and provide a good old-fashioned funny night out at the theatre. As awful as it sounds, sometimes it’s nice to have a break from your own troubles and worries and to laugh at somebody else’s!

Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)

Things We Do For Love runs at the Churchill Theatre Bromley until Saturday 14th June 2014.

Photo Credit: Nobby Clark

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