How life crumbles: the play "Absurd Person Singular" at the Central Square Theater

Absurd Person Singular, a play by Alan Ayckbourn, by the Nora Theater Company at Central Square Theater. Directed by Daniel Gidron.

We saw this performance July 21st. At first, I thought the mannerisms and quips came off as a bit dated and tedious, not unlike the British domestic comedies from the 80s and 90s that are still repeated on PBS. But slowly, I began to feel that we were really into something. A couple puts on a Christmas Eve party, and is slyly treated with contempt by the better-established guests. Sidney (played dry and convincingly by David Berger-Jones) comes off as an early John Cleese. Jane (Samantha Evans) as his frantic wife.

Over the course of three Christmas Eves, the fortunes of the various couples are reversed, until the first couple are avenged, calling the tune, sadistically forcing the others to dance and pretend merriment. Good performances, some genuinely funny spots. I was not entirely convinced by the play itself. The lives of the various characters crumble, as lives do, and we start to feel some affection and sympathy for them. But the route to Sidney and Jane's sadistic vengeance seems a little faked -- we don't see it in them until the very last scene.