Review of When We Get Married – JB Priestley playfully flips gender roles | stage

SThe tomatoes are tight, the bottles are empty, and the night has just begun. J.B. Priestley’s cozy comedy is easy entertainment on a cold evening, and Tim Scheider’s laugh-out-loud production conjures the cozy feeling of sinking into an armchair by the fire and rewatching a quaint old classic.

Written in 1934 and set in 1908, this deceit-filled drama follows three middle-class Yorkshire couples as they celebrate their silver wedding anniversary. Monied, well-mannered, and stunningly dressed by fashion designer Anna Fleischle (all soft tweed and extravagant puffs of lace cuffs), their breakup begins with the discovery of a mistake made 25 years earlier. None of them are married after all.

This revelation, beautifully frozen between the works in a painting created for Beyoncé’s single ladies, upends their identity in relation to each other and to themselves. Suddenly, the men’s positions of power are shattered along with the fine crockery, and the women discover that they are no longer burdened by duties and piles of their husband’s darn. The skill of Priestley’s prose and this cast’s performances lies in the succinct presentation of the essence of the characters. Especially the belligerent Albert (Mark Wootton), the timid Annie (Sophie Thompson) and the beaked Herbert (the excellent Jim Howick), the last of whom suffers from stomach problems from answering to his wife as much as he does from overeating dinner.

The port continues to flow and news of the uproar spreads throughout the city. Noses and lips twitch as a group of new, lower-class characters throw themselves onto the sofa to get a piece of the scandal: the perky maid (Janice Connolly), the increasingly drunken photographer (Ron Cook, with delightful physical comedy) and Blackpool gal Lottie (Tori Allen Martin) who seems a little familiar with one of the now single men.

Priestley’s crisp, funny dialogue is reflected in every line of the same joke, but he does so with charm. Everything is safe and silly in this well-made, if not raucously so, production. The stakes are never too high, and the tantrums are never too long. As the night comes to an end, couples feel a little shaky, and it’s all the better for them. Priestley’s play reminds us to work better with each other, to make the most of what we have – and if any wedding day is approaching, to double-check the paperwork to avoid a nasty surprise 25 years later.