"Bedroom Farce"

August 18, 2011 — A bit slow-paced for the first half of Act 1, but the pace quickened and the hilarity increased as the play progressed. For its seventh and next-to-last production of this season, The Barnstormers in Tamworth, New Hampshire presented Alan Aykbourn's "Bedroom Farce."

This was a very funny play once it got rolling. With three partitionless bedrooms and most of the actors on stage at the same time, separation was achieved by focusing lighting on one bedroom at a time as each couple played their parts. Very English, some of the dialog and action was reminiscent of Monty Python. For the most part, the actors' British accents were convincing, with Tom Patterson doing the best one. Shelly Bolman sometimes allowed his normal American accent to come through, but his portrayel of the injured, bedridden Nick was one of the show's funniest. Dale Place, a Barnstormers regular, was superb as always as a fussy, uptight older Brit, and Penny Purcell was perfectly cast as his very proper British wife. Angela Smith was great as the neurotic, unstable Susannah. Amy Prothro, Paul Melendy and Kelly Rypkema filled out the cast. All were excellent.