REVIEW - If I Were You, Caxton Theatre, 19th - 26th April 2025 - ***

Thought-provoking, and startlingly topical, Alan Ayckbourn’s comedy-drama at the Caxton Theatre struggles to deliver many genuine big laughs, but, for sheer creativity and range of performance, this is a hot ticket indeed.

'If I Were You' poster design (c) Caxton Theatre

First produced at Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre (where else?) in 2006, If I Were You is virtually a play of two halves: unhappily married couple Mal and Jill Rodale, sharing a home with their teenage son Sam, live a life of mutual disdain. Clichéd in parts (and hindered by a, sometimes, laboursome script), Mal is a misogynistic, homophobic ‘banter-baiting’ bloke, while Jill is a downtrodden, stay-at-home, clean-freak. Sam has a glimmer of aspiration to take up acting at school, something that is frowned upon by Mal, and gently encouraged by Jill. Their daughter, Chrissie, has flown the nest, but is in an equally inharmonious marriage; she’s married to Dean, a loutish, impressionable colleague of Mal’s, who shares the same outdated attitudes towards women as his father-in-law.

Doesn’t sound like a comedy? Well, there were friendly nods and some chuckles along the way, but the comedic mileage from the inevitable body-swap as alluded to in the title delivered the lion’s share of the laughs in Act Two. It’s a long time for the pay-offs, with Act One playing out more like elongated exposition, but, it’s just about worth waiting for.

The cast are put through their paces: four doors lead off in all directions, and there’s split-second timing on all entrances and exits, although there is room for some tightening when certain scenes, lines and moments could easily overlap without detracting or distracting. The set is extremely imaginative, with director Nigel Stolworthy shaking up a traditional boxed set with great ingenuity. The story and relationships are all deftly handled; we care about the resolve and the absolution, and Ayckbourn, albeit light on laughs, never tips the balance into undue sentimentality, or maudlin pathos. Stolworthy rightly handles the domestic abuse subplot with no great underlining, as that would hamper the comedy. Ryan Sowerby, as Dean, has fine comic timing in the saleroom scenes, and yet, boldly, never makes the character likeable (and certainly never forgivable), an opinion shared by the contempt squared at him by Sam, who, despite all the teenage angst and backhanded sarcasm, comes out as one of the most sympathetic characters. This is Alfie Parrot’s debut performance at Caxtons, and he is excellent. Elizabeth Morse takes the role of Chrissie, and she is the beating heart of the play. Morse navigates her performance through the difficult revelations expressing a nuanced versatility. The plum roles of Mal and Jill are undertaken by Martin Traylen and Liz Drury, and it isn’t until the second act that we fully appreciate the diversity of both as the dynamics have switched. It would be easier to overplay these to a pantomimic level. Instead, Stolworthy steers Drury and Traylen to perform comedic and delicate portrayals of each other; Traylen’s ever-so-light effeminacy as ‘Jill’ and Drury’s grunting, cantankerous bemusement as ‘Mal’ are both beguilingly pragmatic renderings.

Martin Traylen and Liz Drury in 'If I Were You' (c) Caxton Theatre

The play falters somewhat due to its rigid, mono-paced direction. Stolworthy tells the story efficiently, but, as the script is story-light, there are missed opportunities to liven up the proceedings. However, Stolworthy - together from the creativity deployed with the set (and light and sound design) - does very well with another of Ayckbourn’s traits: using one set to replicate another. And so, the Rodale’s bedroom, living room and kitchen becomes the bedroom, living area and kitchenette for Mal’s showroom floor. Stolworthy understands Ayckbourn (and the family/relationship power battles that are key to so many of his works) and therefore should be encouraged to take the helm again.          

In a time where being ‘a man’ and being ‘a woman’ is being discussed, challenged, defended and altogether fought for, this timely play tries to throw some light on gender politics, and, even though it’s fairly pedestrian, Ayckbourn’s and Stolworthy’s If I Were You still holds the mirror up to society.

If I Were You is being performed at the Caxton Theatre until Saturday 26th April. For more

information and booking please click on the link below.

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