Example of absurd person singular play critique essay

“ Absurd Person Singular” is the most commercially successful of Alan Ayckbourn’s plays. Alan Ayckbourn, for the record, is an extremely prolific modern English playwright who has written and produced seventy full length plays over the course of his career. Though the play is 40 years old it is still as fresh and interesting us today as it was then. I certainly enjoyed it. “ Absurd Person Singular” is a unique blend of comedy and tragedy. It made me laugh and cry, as well as think. The play takes place on the Christmas Eves of three consecutive years in the kitchens of three couples. The three couples range from the working to the upper classes. We are made to see the differences in these couples’ social and financial stations and see major changes in their relationships and lifestyles–some for the better, some for the worse. The play shows us that people, no matter their class, have the same problems and that often the people who seem to have the most comfort and pleasure outwardly have unsatisfying private lives. Ayckbourn also wants us to see, through the medium of his play, the rise of hardworking people over lazy and self centred, comfortable individuals.
In Absurd Person Singular we can clearly see three acts. The sets are static for each act with the change from one kitchen to the next occurring between acts. Playwrights often have parallel scenes at different points in a play, or juxtapose two very different scenes to make a point. However Alan Ayckbourn juxtaposes the acts by having each act as the consecutive year therefore highlighting then change that we see. The first act of “ Absurd Person Singular” presents the last of the three consecutive Christmases, which is set in the kitchen of Sidney and Jane. Sidney is an ambitious tradesman and Kathleen Early, who plays Jane, is a submissive wife. Sidney tries to persuade the others to invest in his business. Though he is not always successful, he is the hardworking, motivated, rising character who the playwright seems to hold up as a model. I favored the actress who played Jane – Kathleen Early. She delivered a convincing, life-like performance. Yes, she was able to convince me that she really was a dominated little woman. Though this play was set in a time that is forty years in the past, Kathleen Early in the character of Jane was able to make me believe that this character was one of the Stepford wives of this century. All of the acting was clean, forthright, clear, active, intelligent, and creative.
The costumes also were excellent. No, they were not showy, bright, or especially noticeable. Instead, the costumes were natural and convincing, which greatly enhanced the reality of the performance of this play, “ Absurd Person Singular”. These costumes did happen to stay true to the styles, cuts, and colors that were prevalent forty years ago, yet they also had enough of a modern air about them to help this play to stay relevant and attention grabbing for us today in the 21st century. Also, the music and the lighting helped to create the perfect atmosphere. It did not overpower. It was not even particularly noticeable. This means that the lighting and music were effective.