RolePlay (play)

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RolePlay
Written by	Alan Ayckbourn
Characters	Justin Lazenby Julie-Ann Jobson Paige Petite Micky Rale Derek Jobson Dee Jobson Arabella Lazenby
Date of premiere	4th September 2001
Place of premiere	Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough
Original language	English
Series	Damsels In Distress
Subject	Romance, class difference
Genre	Comedy
Setting	Justin Lazenby's flat, London Docklands, 2001
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'RolePlay' is a 2001 play by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn, the third in a trilogy of plays called Damsels In Distress (GamePlan and Flatspin being parts one and two.) It is about an engaged couple, Julie-Ann Jobson and Justin Lazenby whose engagement party is interrupted by unexpected intrusions.

Contents 1 Characters 2 Setting 3 Synopsis 4 Productions 5 Critical Review 6 References

[edit] Characters

As part of the Damsels in Distress trilogy, Roleplay was written to use the same seven actors as the other two plays in the series. In this play, the characters are:

• Justin Lazenby, about thirty, a software developer
• Julie-Ann Jobson, twenty-three, Justin's somewhat mismatched fiancée
• Paige Petite, twenty-nine, an ex-dancer living in a penthouse upstairs
• Micky Rale, forty, an ex-boxer and Paige's "minder"
• Derek Jobson, late fifties, Julie-Ann's right-wing father
• Dee Jobson, forty-five, Julie-Ann's mother
• Arabella Lazenby, fifties, Justin's stylishly alcoholic mother

[edit] Setting

The entire play is set in Justin Lazenby's flat, on the riverside in the London Docklands. As part of Damsels in Distress, the play was written to use the identical set to the other two plays. As with most Ayckbourn plays, it was originally performed in the Round for its original performances at the Stephen Joseph Theatre. However, it was adapted for the Proscenium for subsequent performances elsewhere.

The play is performed in two Acts. The first Act is divided into two scenes, and the second Act is one continuous scene.

[edit] Synopsis

The play opens where Justin Lazenby and Julie-Ann Jobson are busy preparing for a dinner party. Julie-Ann's parents are expected, as are Justin's mother and her current "man-friend", and, it is intended, Justin will announce their engagement. However, there are already warning signs that they are perhaps not the most compatible couple. Julie-Ann's frantic desperation to get every last detail perfect isn't a good sign, neither is Justin's reaction to Julie-Ann's suggestion that they should now live chastely apart until their wedding night. In the meantime, Justin receives a series of phone calls from his mother, Arabella, giving indications that she will be both drunk and late.

However, after Julie-Ann goes out of the flat in search of a replacement to a missing, all Justin's problems pale into insignificance when a woman falls into his balcony. She is Paige Petite, who has climed out of the window of the upstairs penthouse she lives in, and Justin quickly discovers she is on the run from her violent gangster boyfriend, Rudi, who mistakenly believes she cheated on him. But before she can leave the flat, Paige's "minder", Micky Rale, having gone in search of her, finds Paige in the flat. Paige refuses to leave, and Micky refuses to leave without her or let her go anywhere else. Julie-Ann returns to discover Paige (having taken a bath in Justin's flat) wearing the dress she was intending to wear this evening. Julie-Ann demands Paige takes off the dress, but it ends with Micky pointing a gun at Justin and insisting Julie-Ann helps herself to one of Paige's dresses back in her penthouse. After Julie-Ann leaves, Micky acknowledges Justin is holding a party this evening and asks "Is there anything we can do to help?"

In the second scene, Justin, Micky and Paige are still waiting for Julie-Ann's return. Before she returns, Julie-Ann's parents from Doncaster, Derek and Dee Jobson, arrive. They instantly warm to Justin, but whilst it is clear they regard Julie-Ann as with fondness (with a nickname of "our apple"), they evidently have fallen out with their other two daughters. When Julie-Ann finally returns, it is in one of Paige's skimpy revealing dresses, much to her parents' horror.

When Justin's mother, Arabella, finally arrives, it is without her "man-friend" Olaf, who was ditched en route. Very drunk, she instantly mistakes Paige for Justin's fiance and lavishes praise on her, saying Justin has struck gold. When Justin eventually manages to get across that she is not Julie-Ann and point out which girl Julie-Ann really is, she reacts by saying "He's done it again! Another bloody dog." Julie-Ann leaves in tears, Arabella collapses on the sofa, and the Act closes with Justin cheerfully saying "Soup anyone?"

The second act takes place after the dinner. In spite of Arabella having spend the entire dinner unconscious on the sofa, and Paige and Micky joining the meal and messing up the careful cutlery arrangement, things have evidently gone well. Julie-Ann, having swapped dresses with Paige at some point, attempts to make things up with Arabella, although Arabella never seems to be clear which girl is which. However, things start to go downhill when Derek has a private word with Justin. Derek suggests Justin should move up to Doncaster to take over his garden centre business, and seems oblivious to Justin's attempts to hint he is not that interested. Furthermore, Justin learns from Derek that the reason Derek and Dee fell out with Julie-Ann's two sisters was because one of them is a lesbian and the other married a Chinese man.

Meanwhile, Micky takes the occasional phone call from Rudi, now returning from a boxing match in Birmingham. Paige gets increasingly fearful of what he will do to her when he returns, but Micky refuses to change his mind - not because he wishes this on her, but because he says he is doing his job. In spite of this, Paige rescues Micky when Arabella takes an interest in his boxing career, claiming he was brilliantly successful when in fact he was a dismal failure. After Arabella has fallen and broken fourteen glasses, the evening start to fall flat. Derek makes a few lame jokes that Dee and Julie-Ann find hilarious, but, undeterred, attempts to start a couple of probable racist jokes. Undeterred, Julie-Ann insists on Justin's speech. Justin attempts to start with "It's with great pleasure ..." but keeps stalling on "It's ..." and instead sings It's a Long Way to Tipperary.

The conversation then moves to Paige's common-sounding voice, and she tells a story of how her voice became like this as a result of a motorbike accident she has when she was younger - a story that Justin correctly suspects she made up. Arabella then suggests Paige does a dance as her party piece, having heard earlier Paige was a "dancer" and failing to realise what sort of dancer that meant. Paige, having been incensed by the Jobsons over the evening, agrees and gives Justin a lap dance, before Julie-Ann attacks her. Deciding the evening to be a write-off, Justin gets his mother away into a taxi before Julie-Ann talks to him. She says she forgives him, but the wording of her forgiveness implies that she expects Justin to take up Derek's garden centre offer if they are to stay together.

The doorbell rings, which Justin believes to be Paige's boyfriend. He is all set to deny ever seeing Paige, but it turns out to be Arabella, having only made it a few hundred yards in the taxi instead of her home in Surrey. Micky, having warmed to Arabella, and been taken in by Paige's story of her accident, not to mention getting worried about getting hurt along with Paige when Rudi returns. offers to take Arabella home in one of Rudi's favourite car, thereby setting Paige free. Justin gives Paige some money to get on her way, but by now he wants an escape from his own life. He persuades Paige to take him with her. They leave together, and play ends just as Rudi's gangsters are trying to force their way through the door to a surprised Derek and Dee.

[edit] Productions

The premiere at the Stephen Joseph Theatre on the 4th September 2001 featured the following cast:

• Arabella Lazenby - Jacqueline King
• Julie-Ann Jobson - Saskia Butler
• Paige Petite - Alison Pargeter
• Derek Jobson - Robert Austin
• Micky Rale - Tim Faraday
• Dee Jobson - Beth Tuckey
• Justin Lazenby - Bill Champion

The Creative Team was the following:

• Director - Alan Ayckbourn
• Design - Roger Glossop
• Lighting - Mick Hughes
• Costumes - Christine Wall
• Music - Keith Jarrett

The first West End performance was made at the Duchess Theatre and featured the same cast and creative team.^[1]

[edit] Critical Review

The reviews of all three Damsels in Distress plays were all broadly positive, but Roleplay was particularly singled out for Praise. However, this led to the West End Production showing Roleplay far more than the other two plays, much to the disappointment of both Alan Ayckbourn and the cast, who expected all three plays to be performed equally.^[2] Shortly afterwards, Alan Ayckbourn threatened to boycott the West End altogether, having also grown frustrated with casting unsuitable film actors into West End stage plays.^[3]

Alison Pargeter won Best Newcomer in the Critics' Circle Awards for her role as Paige, along with her roles as Kelly in GamePlan and Rosie in FlatSpin.^[4]

[edit] References