Alan Ackybourn has written some brilliantly black and farcical plays, but in Macolm Mowbray's hands, his 'Revenger's Comedies' come across merely as a jolly romp of little social relevance. The script sparkles in places, and Martin Clunes is very funny in his role, but as a whole, the piece never comes to life: perhaps it needs the intensity of theatrical staging, where the escalating sequence of events can be unfolded in greater mutual proximity than in a film. But there's also a sense I had in watching this that the script had been cut down; I don't know if this is true, but if so, it could explain why the script had an emasculated feeling, as if the dialogues between the characters had been reduced to outline form only. In general, I'm a big fan of this writer; but if you want to explore his work, you might be better starting somewhere else.
Review of The Revengers' Comedies
