A sparse, starkly-lit set with a tidy bed, a bucket, some artist's materials and a sign saying '1 year, 6 months' doesn't give many clues as to what to expect of this comedy drama. But as soon as Andy (Phil Mulryne) and Pam (Fiona Gilbert) appear, it's clear that the emptiness of the setting is an accurate reflection of the state of their marriage. Pam and Andy, a painter, haven't had sex for that accusingly-signposted 18 months, and the strain is showing. In their first scene they sit glumly on the bed, close together but miles apart, pinned in the lights' cold glare. Pam sadly notes that their 'lovely bed' is 'barely ever used'. But Andy, whose fault this mostly is, has come up with a solution.

From that first scene the action jumps back six months and charts, with the aid of handy little flipchart signs, the painful - and often painfully funny - deterioration of their relationship. It is not helped by the attentions of Pam's ridiculously buff gym instructor Kieran (Dave Cutler), or by Andy's growing interest in voluptuous life-model Trudy (Ellie Hale). In a series of monologues, interspersed with scenes with and between the other characters, Andy explores the reasons for his lack of interest in sex with Pam. He grapples with how to continue avoiding it, while managing somehow to save his marriage. But when it finally returns to the starting point of the play, it turns out that Andy's 'amicable' solution is no solution at all.

Tom Willshire's writing is consistently crisp and very funny, with some classic lines and neat set-ups, but he's not afraid to darken the mood. There are times when the time-frame is a little confusing – an awful lot happens at '1 year, 4 months' for instance – and it's odd that Andy and Pam's situation doesn’t seem to erupt until one full year without sex has elapsed. But the story is engaging, and he's created four terrific characters to help him tell it.

In other hands, these four could have come across as merely shallow and self-obsessed, but the combination of good writing, sure-footed direction and strong performances invests them with real humanity. Phil Mulryne's Andy has a skittish, anxious energy and puppy-dog likeability. He reveals another side to Andy's 'sensitive' nature, in his ignoring of his wife's needs and his preference for painting his models in a wheelchair. Dave Cutler's Kieran, who 'models himself on Michelangelo's David' preens and struts, but he allows an appealing vulnerability to peek through, particularly in his tender post-coital 'snuggling' with Pam. Ellie Hale, while creating a gloriously ditzy Trudy (who reads Dostoyevsky as she sits waiting for her modelling sessions), also lets both the character's vulnerability and her surprising toughness show. Fiona Gilbert possibly has the toughest job as Pam, who at times can seem to be merely a foil for the other characters' neuroses. She gives a believable and sympathetic performance of a woman struggling to hold onto her marriage in the face of extreme temptation.

Director Emma Colclough brings it all together, handling the combination of comedy and occasional pathos in Tom Willshire's script with a light touch. The original music she has composed for the production is at times quite haunting, injecting a subtle note of longing. She orchestrates some deliciously rowdy physical comedy moments, particularly in Pam and Kieran's sex-scene. She contrasts this tellingly with the chilling emptiness of Andy's clumsy assault on Trudy, and with the stark differences in the aftermath of both events. There are some slightly clunky moments when one pair of characters goes into freeze mode in full light, while the others play out a scene – but generally the action flows well. The end of the play also seems rushed: it's suddenly at '3 years', Pam and Andy have split, and Andy is happily having 'loads of virtual sex' in Second Life - but where the other characters are going is left hanging. It's perhaps a fair reflection of the fact that this isn't actually a light little comedy after all, and that there are no neat and tidy happy-ever-after endings.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Dave Cutler – Kieran. Fiona Gilbert – Pam. Ellie Hale – Trudy. Phil Mulryne – Andy.

Company Credits: Writer - Tom Willshire. Director - Gemma Colclough. Designer - Gemma Colclough. Original Music - Gemma Colclough. Lighting Operator - Paul Stowe. Stage Manager - David Hockham. Producer - uncredited. Company - Idle Hands. Website - www.idlehandsproductions.co.uk.

END

(c) Linda Duncan McLaughlin 2009

reviewed Monday 10 August 09 / Iron Belly @ Underbelly, Edinburgh UK

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com