I say our private lives because what Alan Ayckbourn wrote when he put pen to paper for this one really does reflect what we get up to in the privacy of our own homes.
Of course, the stakes are ratcheted right up the scale when other people invade that space - and that's what happens in Bedroom Farce.
Three of the couples end up sharing their bedrooms with someone outside the family circle. No, it's NOT like that - but hints and nods to what they're trying to say bring sniggers of recognition from the audience as well as some glaring home truths.
So we have Juliet Mills, married to Bruce Montague. A mature couple, shall we say, with gentle Bruce still full of affection for his dear wife, and her reflecting (perhaps) on what their bedroom life might have been.
Their son Trevor (Oliver Boot) is suffering martial strife, especially when his wife Susannah (Natasha Alderslade) confesses she's started to see women in a new - maybe attractive - light.
The plot sparks into life at a party hosted by Kate and Malcolm (Julia Mallam and Ayden Callaghan) and as the dust settles, daft Trevor plants a kiss on his not too unwilling ex, Jan, played by Claire Wilkie, whose husband (Maxwell Caulfield) is at home (in bed, of course) with a bad back.
Juliet Mills gets all the best lines - patting the bed gently with one hand, enquiring "this old trouble, is it?" to her confidante.
And she brought the house down with her line that began "When S. E. X. rears its ugly head".
Her tiny figure on the stage was brought to life in her characterisation, in contrast to Montague, whose seasoned bumbling created the perfect foil for her all-knowing asides.
Bruce was the flirtatious Leonard on TV, playing opposite Wendy Craig, and at times the short monologues here mirrored a Carla Lane speech, reminiscent of the voice within from Butterflies or even the Liver Birds.
With Bedroom Farce being written in the early 70s, perhaps that's hardly surprising. Not a rip-roarer this one, but plenty of food for thought.
And you might just recognise yourself on stage...!
 |
| Maxwell Caulfield and Claire Wilkie |
