It Runs in the Family, a 1992 comedy by Ray Cooney, makes a triumphant return to the stage in Director Ron Aldridge's production, currently staged at The Mill at Sonning. The uproarious, laughter-inducing comedy keeps the audience hooked throughout with its hilarious series of miscommunication and misunderstandings, in the way only the best plays of the farce genre can do.
The Mill at Sonning is a dinner theatre, with excellent quality productions, often choosing to revive great classic plays. Carefully selected by Artistic Director Sally Hughes (for over 3 decades), one is guaranteed a sophisticated and truly one of a kind experience at this theatre, with the show almost in competition with the delicious meal served beforehand for the highlight of the day. It Runs in the Family proudly upholds that standard, with a production that pays homage to British plays whilst making subtle changes to work for contemporary audiences.
The play features an array of characters as their lives become interwoven and tangled, reaching comedic new heights of utter chaos through the lies and secrets. Dr. Mortimore (Steven Pinder) is nervously practicing his speech for the prestigious Neurology conference, when former flame Jane Tate (Natasha Gray) re-enters his life 19 years later, with surprising news - their 18-year old son Leslie (Francis Redfern) is on his way to meet his father for the first time! However, desperate to hide the affair and subsequent child from his wife, Rosemary Mortimore (Rachel Fielding), and his superior Sir Willoughby Drake (Eric Carte), Dr Mortimore attempts to worm his way out of the situation. With help from his colleagues Dr. Hubert Bonney (James Bradshaw) and Dr. Mike Connolly (Oscar Cleaver), Dr Mortimer must not only ward off his new family but also the hospital's strict Matron (Elizabeth Elvin), suspicious Police Sergeant (Titus Rowe) and stubborn patient Bill (Iain Stuart Robertson) as well.
It Runs in the Family has everything one could hope for in a farce comedy, neatly combining the witty language and physical comedy with impossibly funny situations. Cooney reminds audiences, old and new, just how much love and life is poured into the characters and the story to make the exaggerated circumstances feel natural. The comedy may only have a few heartwarming moments scattered throughout, yet they serve as the glue holding the play together, and a compass for audiences to care about the characters journeys.
The ensemble are all individually excellent, yet collectively are somehow even better, creating a marvellously capable cast. Each performer manages to showcase their best talents, and leave lasting impressions on the piece and the audience. Particularly impressive is Redfern, whose emotional and angsty teenage exterior is slowly melted away by his yearning for a loving father, Robertson, whose commitment to his role is unparalleled, Pinder, who tackles the momentous dialogue and acting with an impressive ease, and at last but not least, Bradshaw, who steals the show at several points, with his imitations, tap dancing and acting.
Cooney's ability to consistently invite and create more impossible situations and inescapably wild fictional scenarios is genius, allowing for the show to constantly be plummeting into chaos. At every turn, characters make the wrong choices, leading to a greater strain on the already fragile truth, which delights audiences endlessly. The jovial nature of the play almost sweeps up the actors, with a few of them caught up in the absurdity of their situation, and end up chuckling along with the audiences. Whilst a few of the jokes and references are dated and naturally receive rather subdued laughter if any at all, the majority of Cooney's writing is exceptional as ever.
There are moments in the second half, where the plot twists and complications feel almost overwhelming and toe the line of predictable outcomes, yet Aldridge's direction keeps the performances as earnest as ever, and carefully dodges this.
The play is set in the Doctor's common room, three days before Christmas. The set (Alex Marker) has been created around the three stage entrances and exits, that are used in abundance throughout the play to great effect, with finer details and signs added to help explain the long hospital hallways offstage. The window seat hides a hollow stowaway space, along with a ledge that are both uses well. The large window frames a gorgeous wintery scenery which is both a cosy and disorientating sight in mid February. Graham Weymouth's lighting design helps distinguish between scenes, and brings a lovely mix of the bright hospital light and warmer glow.
Natalie Titchener as costume designer provides sensible and authentic costumes for the characters, allowing for the characters to belong to the modern day. Particular Leslie's costume, that leans into a modern day stereotype of a troublesome teen, a creative choice that I commend amongst the otherwise more traditional roots of the play. Titchener, however, takes great liberty with the pantomime costumes, that the actors occasionally don, to both colourful and great comedic effect.
It Runs in the Family feels so inherently a classic in the British farce, that I hope for a resurgence in the writings of farcical plays; perhaps as a winter tradition alongside pantomimes. The play, although rarely staged, remains as striking and funny as ever, making the play a perfect day out.
It Runs in the Family plays at The Mill at Sonning until 12th April.
★★★★★ (5*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Carla Joy Evans
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