If I Were You
Bingley Arts Centre

Alan Ayckbourn’s dramatic imagination is often seized by hypothetical scenarios and the ‘What If ...’ could hardly be more far fetched than one morning a married couple wake up to find they have experienced a body swap.

Jonathan Scott directs Bingley Little Theatre’s humorous interpretation of Ayckbourn’s 70th play, If I Were You.

The first night audience laughed out loud as husband Mal Rodale, played by David Helliwell, and his wife Jill, played by Gilly Rogers, struggled to cope not only with their own changed gender roles, but also with their new relationships with their immediate family.

MORE STAGE HEADLINES

Mal’s gruff, alpha male personality changed into a kind, considerate, softly spoken individual, while Jill adopted many of her husband’s attributes.

Both man and wife capture their changed personalities perfectly and are well supported by their son and daughter played by Ben Pearson and Laura Hawkyard, and David Elliott playing the son-in-law.

The set, designed by Anthony Leach, cleverly doubles up without a single change of prop from a house into the furniture showroom run by Mal and back again throughout the production.

Runs until Saturday

Susan Markham