BWW Reviews: Fifth 'Winter Ayckbourn' at Zeitgeist Stage Company

There are a lot of new faces joining the team for Zeitgeist Stage Company's production of prolific British playwright Alan Ayckbourn's Neighbourhood Watch and they hit the deck running under David J. Miller's skillful direction. This New England premiere of his opus #75 marks the fifth consecutive "winter Ayckbourn" at Zeitgeist and the audiences keep coming, even as the tone of the comedy grows darker. In an effort to thwart theft, petty crimes, and vandalism, a well-intentioned group of residents bands together to keep their community safe, but their increasing list of concerns borders on totalitarianism and their methods spiral out of control.

If it doesn't sound like a laugh riot, the situations do vary on the comical scale. However, Ayckbourn's characters drive the comedy with their actions and reactions, putting the onus on the actors to find the humor and generate the laughs. Not a problem for the cast of four men and four women who form a cohesive ensemble, each establishing the individuality of their quirky characters. The story revolves around sister and brother Hilda (Zeitgeist veteran Shelley Brown) and Martin Massey (newcomer Bob Mussett), who are victims of a young trespasser with questionable motives shortly after moving to the Bluebell Hill Development.

Fearing for their safety (and that of their garden gnome and Jesus statue), the siblings join forces with a coterie of neighbors to patrol and keep the peace when their pleas for help from the police are largely ignored. All of the committee members seem to have their own agenda or axe to grind. One of the joys in Ayckbourn's overlong script is the deliciously unhurried way he has of revealing the inner drive of the cuckold Garreth (Zeitgeist vet Robert Bonotto), who has a bit of a torturous weapons fetish; the vigilantism of Rod (Victor Brandalise), who mistrusts the government; and mild-mannered Martin's gradual conversion to megalomania as the sycophants shower him with praise and Garreth's hot, young wife Amy (Ashley Risteen) is drawn to him. Hilda evolves from Martin's supportive aide-de-camp and goes rogue, making secret plans with Garreth to exact revenge on Amy, and colluding with gossipy Dorothy (Ann Marie Shea) to recruit mousy Magda (Lynn R. Guerra) to their side against her brutish husband Luther (Damon Singletary) who just happens to think they're all bonkers.

Mussett is a ready-made Brit, simultaneously officious and self-effacing. He easily shifts between standing up to Luther's bullying or melting under Amy's seductive gaze, and his guilty expression when he's hiding his involvement with Amy is priceless. Risteen makes the most of her first appearance at Zeitgeist, playing fast and loose with propriety and seeming to enjoy the discomfort her character causes in the group. Costume Designer Tyler Kinney wraps her in the tightest, shortest skirts imaginable, and has her balance on one pair after another of stiletto heels, giving the impression of a saucy Barbie doll. Guerra's Magda is at the opposite end of the style spectrum, wearing plain shifts and flat slip-on sneakers. She conveys the pain and shame of this young woman who is victimized by her husband, virtually curling herself into a tight coil, wringing her hands, and registering fear and horror on her face. Guerra's performance is quietly nuanced and there is a devastating confessional scene that she nails for every ounce of emotion.

Bonotto and Brown both show the changes their characters undergo, as Garreth becomes a little more crazed and Hilda craftier as called for by events. The roles of Luther and Dorothy are less fleshed out, but Singletary's physique and intensity put across the threat Luther poses to his wife and the watch group's mission, while Shea offers some comic relief positing the gossip cum journalist. Brandalise's portrayal captures Rod's foot soldier mentality, but is one-dimensional and fails to discover an internal rationale for his mistrust. He also seems most challenged by the requisite accent, losing it altogether at times.

Wearing his scenic designer hat, Miller creates the world of the play as prescribed by Ayckbourn with garish green walls upstage and Victorian-style furnishings in the center of the room. The audience is seated on three sides of the set allowing everyone to be very close to the action. Lighting Designer Michael Clark Wonson and Sound Designer David Reiffel provide appropriate effects throughout the play, but they rise to the occasion most effectively at a critical moment when both fire and police activity must be conveyed.

Neighbourhood Watch succeeds on a satirical level, but it is a chilling reminder of real events like the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman in Florida. Ayckbourn wrote the play in 2010 and set it in an English housing development, but the commonalities between the British and American societies include class resentment, mistrust of government, and moralistic judging of the so-called "other" who lives next door. In their zeal to control their corner of the world, Martin's group constantly branches out, overreaches, and takes on ridiculous targets, such as their neighbors' alcohol use and infidelity. Anyone who doesn't conform to the committee's norm, including fellow committee members, may be thrown under the bus. The quote from the old Pogo comic strip comes to mind: "We have met the enemy and he is us."

Neighbourhood Watch

Written by Alan Ayckbourn; Direction & Scenic Design, David J. Miller; Costume Design, Tyler Kinney; Lighting Design, Michael Clark Wonson; Sound Design, David Reiffel; Stage Manager, Kayla Morello; Dialect Coach, Christopher S. Davis

CAST (in order of appearance): Shelley Brown, Bob Mussett, Victor Brandalise, Ann Marie Shea, Robert Bonotto, Ashley Risteen, Lynn R. Guerra, Damon Singletary

Performances through March 1 by Zeitgeist Stage Company at Plaza Black Box Theater, Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont Street, Boston, MA; Box Office 617-933-8600 or www.zeitgeiststage.com.

Photo Credit: Richard Hall/Silverline Images (Victor Brandalise , Lynn R. Guerra, Shelley Brown, Ann Marie Shea, Bob Mussett, and Robert Bonotto)

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