THEATRE: 2 DECEMBER 2017 By GERALDINE WORTHINGTON

Taking Steps, by Alan Ayckbourn | Directed by Mark Kilmurry

Ensemble Theatre (https://www.ensemble.com.au) | Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli, Sydney | Until 13 January 2018

Alan Ayckbourn’s farcical play Taking Steps was written over 30 years ago and what primarily saves this comedy from dating is its employment of high farce. It is all highly exaggerated and improbable, physical humour abounds, characters are absurd and performances stylised.

As well, it is all set in one location, in this case The Pines, a three-storey rural mansion in England. However, at the small, intimate Ensemble theatre in Kirribilli, the stage business is contained on one level.

Here all the rooms can easily been seen simultaneously, by the employment of an imaginary staircase. Designer Anna Gardiner effectively downsizes the mansion to a tiny house, whilst Mark Kilmurry’s clear direction ensures that the audience are orientated early on, as to where’s where, what’ s what, and who is who.

The comedy opens with Elizabeth (Christa Nicola) confiding to her brother Mark (Simon London) that she intends to leave her husband Roland (Peter Kowitz), after only months of marriage. Mark, however, is much too preoccupied with thoughts of his former fiancée Kitty (Emma Harvie).

Roland is in the middle of a real-estate deal with Lesley (Andrew Tighe). assisted by Tristram (Drew Livingston), his nervous, socially challenged solicitor. These characters become entangled in a series of mix-ups and misunderstandings, resulting in numerous silly situations.

All the performances are strong: Kowitz’s portrayal of the self-important tycoon who brags about his success whilst plying them with grog; London’s Mark, a being so boring that he sends everyone to sleep; Harvie’s Kitty, who spends nearly half the play trapped in a bedroom wardrobe; Livingston’s Tristram who attempts to oversee legal fair play but instead succeeds in creating more misunderstandings.

The mix-ups abound. Add in a farewell note opened by the wrong people, an assumed attempted suicide, mistaken identities and a bottle of sleeping pills, and mix!

It has many of the features of Shakespearian comedy, especially the commentary on the role of women.

Worth a look.

Images: Prudence Upton.