Playwright: Simon Gray
At: Remy Bumppo at Victory Gardens Theatre, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave.
Phone: (733) 871-3000; $22-$26
Runs through: May 16
Whatever Ails Ya. This ethos is reflected in Shakespeare's plays—indeed, in most of western literature. So it seems only logical that Harry Pertwee, a literary agent, and his wife Louise, a would-be writer, would retain their belief in this panacea even during the grim Thatcher years in England.
Our story opens in 1980, in an idyllic garden attached to a cozy cottage in picturesque Devonshire that Harry and Louise are preparing to buy as a refuge from the stress of the city. 'Our little paradise!' carols Louise before her chronically fretful temperament asserts itself. It is not entirely unfounded—the two children are a handful, and Harry's widowed father, Ben, misses his wife. Their neighbor, the Reverend 'Ronnie' Chambers—himself married to a certified psychotic, his faith in God wavering, and the housekeeper his only solace—warns them that troubles are not easily eluded in this imperfect world. Over the next 10 years, the truth of his words become manifest.
Simon Gray's plays are slippery creatures, their tone often equally suited to gloom or giggles. But while Hidden Laughter's plot has no shortage of farcical motifs—boisterous bad-boy novelists, hot-to-trot secretaries, a surly bull pastured nearby—director James Bohnen and his ensemble extend sympathy and compassion toward these deluded mortals, delving the purity of their motives rather than jeering them for their folly.
David Darlow strikes just the right note of befuddlement as the Rev. Ronnie, while popular comedy actor Dale Benson reins in his characteristic mannerisms to endow the crusty Ben Pertwee with genuine pathos. Annabel Armour and Nick Sandys struggle to overcome Gray's malicious portrayal of Louise and Harry, as does Cherise Silvestri as the latter's pushy girl-friend. More successful are Joe Sherman and Nejla Wolff as, respectively, the saintly son and incorrigible daughter. And in a role tailor-made for excess, Kelly Cooper contributes a likewise restrained performance as an Angry Young Author. Judith Lundberg's costumes age these personalities over the play's decade-long span with sly subtlety, orienting us in time as precisely as scenic designer Tim Morrison and dialect coach Linda Gates orient us in locale.