Leamington theatre produces a real theatrical gem

WHEN you watch a woman having a nervous breakdown over a dessert trolley and find yourself howling with laughter, you know it’s an Ayckbourn play.

He chose to set Time of My Life in a restaurant saying “Restaurants are great places for things you don’t intend to say… I have seen more human dramas unfold in restaurants than anywhere else.”

Well-respected businessman Gerry Stratton hosts a birthday party for his viciously critical wife Laura. Also present are their elder son, the corporate and smug Glyn, recently reunited with his wife Stephanie and their younger son Adam with his new girlfriend Maureen, a hairdresser from the wrong side of the tracks, played with great energy and verve by Rowen Cameron.

Ironically, this ill-assorted bunch are at the pinnacle of their happiness, as Ayckbourn plays with time to show what happened before and after the party.

Although it is a long play - well over two and a half hours - the audience is totally engrossed in the fracturing of three different relationships.

Essa de Calvi, the restaurant, provides a glorious set as the action moves in a series of short scenes punctuated by the antics of the owner and various waiters all played by David Mears. He had a wonderful time with his garbled pan Mediterranean accents and strange but almost believable dishes.

All the cast members were strong and the director Vanessa Comer made sure the pace was sustained throughout. Both sad and funny, Time of My Life is a real gem and provides a great night out.

Sal McKeown