SRT’s Delightful Comedy by Wayne Kirkbride
No Sex Please, We’re British
This British comedy first came upon the English stage in 1971 and was generally successful, but only received tepid response with an American audience in 1973.
Sierra Repertory Theatre’s Dennis Jones has designed an impressive set of an English apartment that is spacious with three bedrooms on one floor and a third upstairs. The living room is brightly decorated and painted in mauve and shades of pink. The apartment sits over a branch of the National United Bank in Royal Windsor, England.
The story revolves around newly-weds Peter and Frances Hunter who have just settled in this convenient apartment for Peter, for he works downstairs at the bank. The time is 1969, which is important to remember for the social and political mores of the time. When Frances orders what she believes is Scandinavian glassware, and receives a box of pornographic pictures instead, the stage is set for a series of events that goes from bad to worse as the newly weds and friend from the bank, Brian, try to get rid of the scandalous and potentially job-damaging items.
To complicate matters, Peter’s mother, Eleanor has invited herself to visit the couple for an undetermined number of days. As Peter, Frances, and Brian bumble through trying to either destroy the photos in one way or the other, their efforts boomerang when, like a bad headache, they keep coming back, next time in the form of a shipment of “blue” movies, followed by volumes of naughty books. In the meantime, Peter’s superior, Leslie Bromhead appears to have taken interest in Eleanor and complicates matters with his presence. A bank inspector further makes matters worse when he visits Peter and imposes himself on the couple by asking to sleep overnight in the guest bedroom. The plot thickens when the company that sent the material to Frances (thinking she was a he), provide the apartment with a couple of “good-time girls” as part of the total package of goodies. Peter, trying to keep them out of sight, only further invites misadventure, especially with the visiting bank inspector, Mr. Needham.
As mentioned, the setting is 1969 England and while escapades certainly took place, the laws and social decorum didn’t approve of open sexuality in certain situations such as sending or receiving pornography through the mail. As long as one was discreet in matters of sex, there was a tacit understanding and acceptance, unlike the open and frank displays of sex and expression in today’s world. It pays to keep that in mind when seeing this play and accepting the rules of that era. Once the audience remembers that was a different age, it is fun to watch the pitfalls and pratfalls of the cast as they trip over their guilt and sometimes their tongues.
The cast, all quite enjoyable and talented, has some standouts. Peter, played by John C. Brown, was last seen in SRT’s Damn Yankees as the devil. As a young bank employee with a rising star, he throws himself into the role of one caught up in a compromising situation that is frustrating and exhausting.
His wife, Frances, played by Leigh Cara Hussman is the accomplice to the caper and is just as frantic as her husband to undo the damage from her seemingly simple mail order.
Fellow bank employee and the couple’s friend is Brian, played by Dustin Tucker. He was last seen locally in SRT’s Around the World in Eighty Days playing several roles. As good as the other actors were, Tucker stands out for his character who reluctantly agrees to help rid the apartment of the box of photos, movies, and books, only to hilariously fall victim to his choices of destruction and his own building guilt of being discovered. With his facial and body expressions, and lines that seem to have been made for his talent and right-on comic timing, Tucker’s non-stop hi-jinks can’t help but keep the laughter coming.
As Eleanor, the mother, Janis Stevens handles her role of a sophisticated lady, who is proud of her son and a bit reserved with her acceptance of her daughter-in-law. She flits around the apartment, seemingly unaware that her presence in the apartment is not wholly welcomed. When in the presence of a possible suitor, Mr. Bromhead, she puts on the airs of upper-class sophisticate and her correct English upbringing shows in her character.
Leslie Bromhead, played by Jonn Jorgensen is a mature English gentleman, which Bromhead plays with authority. As both Peter’s superior at the bank, and possibly someday, as Peter’s step-dad, he plays the same role as Eleanor – as one who is kept in the dark with the goings on involving the attempts to hush things up, showing puzzled looks when asking questions that supply answers more confusing as the couple and Brian get themselves deeper into lies, leading to more hilarious situations.
The bank inspector, Mr. Needham is played by John Basiulis. He plays a proper, upright Englishman who is thrust into a comedy of errors that allow Basiulis to go from straight arrow to mistakenly being pursued by two ladies around the apartment, loosing his proper decorum, and in the end secretly enjoying every minute of it.
Ginny Wehrmeister and Haley Rade played the two ladies of the evening, Susan and Barbara. In outfits as bright as their lipstick that gave away their trade, they playfully pursued and pranced around the apartment when not being secreted in one room or another by Peter to keep them out of sight from his mother and Leslie.
For light-hearted English humor, not necessarily everyone’s cup of tea, No Sex Please still can be appreciated with its spot-on comical timing and physical theatrics, performed flawlessly by several talented actors. It is guaranteed to bring a few laughs.
Rating: 3 out of 4 stars
No Sex Please, We’re British will be playing now through Sunday, October 25 at the Fallon House Theatre in Columbia. Shows are Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 8 p.m., Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Talk back is Thursday, October 15. Tickets are $22- $28 (Rush Tickets are half of general admission price Thurs and Fri); seniors receive $2 off (except Wednesday); tickets for children 17 & under are $18. Students 18 & older with ID are $20 anytime. For more information, call 532-3120 or visit www.sierrarep.org.
