Alphabetical Order
By Michael Frayn
Directed by Christopher Luscombe
Richmond Theatre
8th – 13th June

There is a natural tendency in the universe towards a state of chaotic disorder; it is expressed in the only scientific law to give time a direction, that is the second law of thermodynamics, but there is a harmony in our universe which seeks to tidy, to categorize and to bring order, so that we, mere mortals, my find happiness and contentment with life, but, as the character Geoffrey states,
‘People get what they’ve wanted, and what they’ve always wanted turns out to be not what they wanted at all.’

Imogen Stubbs is quite superb as the chaotic librarian Lucy in this revival of this 1975 play set in the cuttings library of a provincial newspaper. I say 1975 but it could have been any time in the previous 50 years, she has been left as the curator of this state of disorder and we get introduced to a bunch of characters desperately searching for a story. Geoffrey played by Ian Talbot is the messenger, in and out all day long and he knows the important facts of life, Tuesday, no later than half past four, Miss Fisher, clean hand towel. John, played by Jonathan Guy Lewis in a nice roguish manner, just wants a quote confirmed; it’s by someone not sure whom, about education or something like that. Really he wants a look at the new talent and a chance to impress. Poor Nora, played by Penelope Beaumont, features editor, new shoes, all she just wants is Arnold, to help him while his wife is away. That is the monosyllabic Arnold, played in a nice understated manner by Gawn Grianger, who has moved out of the newsroom to camp out in the library, whiling away the time before his evening in the George. Then there is Wally, played by Michael Garner, fun loving Wally, ready to whisk Lucy away, but on another occasion. Lastly, on her first day, emerges Lesley, played in a nice detached manner by Chloe Newsome, while there is chaos all around she is a seeker of order. This has to be and is a tight knit cast, as the action needs to be choreographed closely to allow the gags to fly and the audience to be engaged. It is a fairly typical first morning all seeking to impress, all trying to make that vital first impression. But disaster awaits in the order that is to be imposed.

This was Michael Frayn’s first play and was based upon his early life as a journalist and it is a nice simple piece, or rather appears to be a nice simple piece, but as with his later work he is asking some very deep questions about how we live our lives and the decisions that we make that affect not only ourselves, but also those around us. About what we are seeking and if we really know what it is that we want and would we be happy if we found it, or even what it is when we have found it.

It is of interest as a period piece, for within a few short years of being written, that whole world had disappeared as new technology displaced the old compositing room, where the internet gave us access to unlimited resources of information and the regional newspapers, with their empathise on local news with a national flavour, disappeared under a hoard of adverts for massage parlours. The play is worth watching if only for that, but this is very nicely presented and directed expertly by Christopher Luscombe so that it becomes a very highly enjoyable evening, which surprisingly asks a few very deep questions.

Reviewed by Evan Rule