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the complete review - drama

FlatSpin

by
Alan Ayckbourn

general information | review summaries | our review | links | about the author

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Our Assessment:

B : far-fetched, fairly amusing

See our review for fuller assessment.

  Review Consensus:

  The weakest of the three plays

  From the Reviews:

• " The second of the three plays, FlatSpin, (...) is one of the thinnest Ayckbourn has ever written. The plot doesn't add up, and the characters come from reach-me-down Ayckbournian stock. Only the vitality of the playing keeps the piece afloat." - Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph
  
  
• "What is this but North by Northwest with Rosie as a female Roger O Thornhill ?" - Michael Billington, The Guardian
  
  
• "(T)he slightest of the three" - Michael Billington, The Guardian
  
  
• "The weakest of the pieces is FlatSpin (.....) There are some very good gags. (...) But the ludicrous "comedy-thriller" plot over-relies on the idea that the secret services are exclusively run by bungling amateurs." - Paul Taylor, The Independent
  
  
• "The protagonist, a forlorn actress whose pursuit of romance thrusts her into the role of dope-dealer, allows Pargeter to be amusingly puckish and flighty; but this is the weakest play" - Benedict Nightingale, The Times
  
  
• "(A) tottering comedy-thriller made of compressed unlikelihoods" - Russell Davies, Times Literary Supplement

Please note that these ratings solely represent the complete review's biased interpretation and subjective opinion of the actual reviews and do not claim to accurately reflect or represent the views of the reviewers. Similarly the illustrative quotes chosen here are merely those the complete review subjectively believes represent the tenor and judgment of the review as a whole. We acknowledge (and remind and warn you) that they may, in fact, be entirely unrepresentative of the actual reviews by any other measure.

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The complete review's Review:

       In FlatSpin unsuccessful young actress Rosie Seymore is helping out her uncle, the janitor at an apartment complex. He was involved in a car acCident and can't come to work for a few days, so she's filling in for him. The play begins with the managing agent showing her the apartments and explaining her duties. Almost as soon as the agent leaves, a neighbour, Sam, rings at the door, and Rosie doesn't correct a misunderstanding: he thinks she is the actual tenant of the apartment she's in, Joanna Rupelford.
       Rosie, desperate for company and any relief from her many disappointments, even allows Sam to invite her to dinner -- or rather, to come over to make dinner. The set-up lends itself to comedy, as Rosie tries fairly unconvincingly to inhabit Joanna's apartment and life (and wardrobe). Matters get more complicated when a persistent woman tries to get in touch with the tenant of the apartment.
       As it turns out, nobody is quite who they seem -- not even Joanna Rupelford. In fact, Rosie has stumbled into a drug sting operation, and soon enough can't stumble out of it.
       There are fun comical scenes here, and a nice twist or two, but the plot is simply too unbelievable for the play to really have much hold on the reader. This is the lightest of entertainments -- but Ayckbourn is a pro, and there is certainly enough comedy here to entertain. It's not a bad play, but it's almost entirely unremarkable.

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Links:

• Faber publicity page
• Damsels In Distress at the Duchess Theatre
• Interview in The Guardian
• Interview at durham21

• FlatSpin
  • BA Entertainment
  • divento.com
  • durham21
  • Humbug's Guide to London Theatre
  
  
• in reviews of Damsels in Distress
  • Affiche (Dutch)
  • CurtainUp
  • Daily Telegraph
  • The Guardian (1)
  • The Guardian (2)
  • Humbug's Guide to London Theatre
  • The Independent (1)
  • The Independent (2)
  • Time (Europe)

• The Alan Ayckbourn Resource Guide - official Ayckbourn site
• Alan Ayckbourn page at Stephen Joseph Theatre
• Two interviews

• Comic Potential
• Communicating Doors
• Damsels in Distress:
  • GamePlan
  • FlatSpin
  • RolePlay
• Henceforward ...
• Intimate Exchanges
• House and Garden
• Things We Do for Love
• See also Ian Watson's Conversations with Ayckbourn

• See Index of Drama under review

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About the Author:

       British playwright Alan Ayckbourn was born in 1939. He has written more than fifty plays.

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© 2004-2009 the complete review

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