COMMUNICATING DOORS
Communicating Doors starts out like an unusually kinky episode of Are You Being Served?, a 70s British sitcom that airs here on Channel 11. The initial encounter between a frail old man and an S and M hooker named Poopay (the name is French for “puppet,” she insists) leads us to expect an evening of smarmy sex comedy based on the gulf between desire and performance, a staple of British music-hall humor. And a superficial description of the play’s climax–three women scramble to keep from falling off a hotel balcony, leading a hotel detective to suspect lesbian lasciviousness–might suggest one of Ray Cooney’s naughty farces. But Communicating Doors is also a comic thriller that generates tolerable excitement and laughs by toying with the damsel-in-distress tradition–and a feminist fairy tale that relies on fantasy to make its dreams come true.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Though it fails to explore the moral issues raised by its premise–taking responsibility falls by the wayside as the characters get bogged down in explaining time travel–Communicating Doors is an amusing showpiece for the cast, something the pragmatic Ayckbourn always emphasizes. Liz Crowther brings an appealing feistiness to Ruella, who emerges as the women’s leader, and her chiffon-and-sandpaper voice, recalling Glynis Johns and Dorothy Tutin, is the quintessential English comic actress’s voice, making the dialogue a treat to listen to. Adie Allen is delightful as Poopay, the wanton whip wielder who melts like butter under Ruella’s influence; Sara Markland is convincing as Jessica, a 70s airhead confronted by an incredible situation; John Hudson’s grim-visaged, guilt-haunted Reece blends horror and humor with Dickensian panache; and Richard Durden as the homicidal Julian is a scary-funny psychopath. Their crisp interplay makes Communicating Doors playful fun; now it’s up to Ayckbourn to make it more than that.
