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30 July 2026
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3***
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Alan Ayckbourn has always striven to be inventive, not just in his writing, but in his use of staging and theatrical devices within his storylines. His 1994 play, ‘Communicating Doors’ is an example of this, where a time-travelling plot helps three women conquer adversity and reverse their own deaths! It is a smart idea indeed, however, I sometimes feel that Ayckbourn tries to be too clever for his own good and the outline plan can sometimes outshine the actual text.
Set in the same hotel room in three different years, the play kicks off with a dominatrix arriving to, supposedly, meet with a client, only to be drawn into a complex web of intrigue, murder and collaboration. The scene is set but feels very long-winded and over-written and there are a few other sequences containing lengthy explanations which just slacken the pace – at times you yearn for the story to advance quicker. As the play moves back and forth between the decades, the plot thickens and ….well it isn’t the easiest to explain or follow, but the twists and turns appear to end in a satisfactory outcome for, almost, everyone. Ayckbourn often mixes his genres – he is rarely a writer of pure comedy – this play has comedy, drama, murder mystery, thriller, sci-fi… it never seems to know what it is and, therefore, the audience isn’t given an easy time of it – how do you react to such a mash-up?
Ayckbourn has written many strong female roles and here is an example of that with Poopay (Phoebe) as the sex worker played with a wide-eyed determination by Lucy Greenhalgh in a very likeable performance. Victoria Porter, once again, notches up another strong characterisation as Ruella – a wronged wife – who is the driving force behind the success of attempts to change history. Initially incredibly uncertain and dismissive, when Jessica is drawn into the story, she soon joins in with Ruella and Poopay to change their lives – Jessica Olim offers a neat aloofness, particularly, when announcing she re-married to become a countess. The male roles, however, lack depth. However, so convincing is Andrew Fettes, that he really does appear to be on the verge of some kind of collapse as Reece, the man whose confessions the women try to negate. Tom Everatt creates the best audience jump of the night with just the show of a hand in his excellent turn as the hired killer and Tobias Deacon is wonderfully bewildered as the hotel security man.
There are times in Ayckbourn’s work when, what may have been seen as entertaining originally, just doesn’t work today or is less acceptable – I often think of the scene in what is seen as a classic comedy, ‘Absurd Person Singular’, when a character spends a whole act trying to commit suicide – it just isn’t funny, well to this reviewer anyway. I found this play too had uncomfortable moments and very few laughs – the shenanigans with a bedspread and window being an exception. The other issues as set out earlier in this review do not make it a straightforward piece of work to analyse, suffice to say it doesn’t work for this reviewer.
All that being said, director, Su Gilroy, takes this tricky play by the horns and provides the audience with plenty to get their minds working and for many it will be thoroughly entertaining. The set, complete with bathroom toilet and bidet and the very important revolving door, works well as does the simple lighting and sound to accompany the time travel sequences.
Yes, a play which will divide opinion but a production which is very well presented and performed.
Cast
Ruella – Victoria Porter
Phoebe/Poopay – Lucy Greenhalgh
Julian – Tom Everatt
Jessica – Jessica Olim
Reece – Andrew Fettes
Harold – Tobias Deacon
Creatives
Writer – Alan Ayckbourn
Director – Su Gilroy
Lighting and Sound Design – Steve Miller
Set Design – Robert Sherwood
Stage Management – Tom Neill & Eddie Comerford
Production Assistant – Gary Fish
Costume Assistant – Grace Dudzicki
