By Gary Murray
Travels With My Aunt is the second of three plays being presented as part of the ‘Summer In The Park‘ season at the Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne.
Following an entertaining but by-the-book production of Alan Ayckbourn’s Table Manners, Travels is the tale of Henry, a mild-mannered bank manager who’d much rather be pruning his dahlias at home and is swept into a world of exotic travels and odd encounters by a chance meeting with his rather hedonistic and amoral Aunt Augusta.
What will happen to Henry in the face of this sudden exposure? Are things really all they seem in his seemingly mundane life?
This is the celebrated Giles Havergal adaptation with four male actors in business suits portraying more than 20 characters. But here it is handled superbly by the cast. Changes are made with a scarf, a hat or a jacket.
The set, designed by Alex Marker, is very effective. Two large travel trunks double as doorways and a pile of cases and smaller trunks are used to create chairs, tables and, hilariously in one scene, a urinal. There is a constant sense of movement, as in a journey. A giant postcard at the back cleverly denotes place.
And so we get four Henrys and four Augustas. Particular mention should be made of Toby Manley and Pete Ashmore who both pitched the emotional truth of the character perfectly (and very funnily!)
After a maelstrom of exotic trips and murky characters, Henry and Augusta fetch up in Paraguay. And, finally, we get some answers.
Adapting a novel for the stage is not easy, and here it stays just this side of wordy. This production delivers with a sense of fun while not being afraid of portraying the darker side of hedonism.
:: Travels With My Aunt runs at the Devonshire Park Theatre until 13th July 2024.
:: The reviewer paid for their own ticket
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