Arrivals and Departures at the Oxford Playhouse

Alan Ayckbourn's latest play Arrivals and Departures came to Oxford this week. Do they get stranger as he gets older? This is not a straightforward comedy, although it is very funny at times (why am I laughing quietly to myself when the rest of the audience is quiet?). It is more of a black comedy with a bit of Becket surrealism thrown in.

The success of the play depends on the integration of a number of flashbacks as each of the two main characters, twenty-three year old Ez (not Esme!) and elderly Barry contemplate their past. They are commanded to  "merge" by the capped major (as picture), she on army duty there to protect our Yorkshire traffic warden. They believe they have nothing in common to "merge" but their past reveals common unhappy secrets of which the other is unaware. The performances of Elizabeth Boag and Kim Wall in the lead roles are excellent, as is Terence Booth as the major.

As I say, the play depends on the success of this original device, and it does not always succeed. I thought the second half (a repeat of the first's real time action) was more successful, if not somewhat predictable. But the sheer ambition of the playwright and his manipulation of the play's structure result in a highly thought provoking climax where we are left to make up our own minds about Barry and Ez's future. Tragedy or the opposite await.