STANWOOD – For an up-and-coming young British couple, pornography is nearly as scandalous as murder. So when smut mistakenly finds its way into their abode, they act like they’re harboring criminals or hiding dead bodies.
That furtive frenzy is what drives the plot of “No Sex Please, We’re British!” an English farce written by Anthony Marriott and Alistair Foot being presented by the Camwood Players.
George Carter, who has graced several stages in our region, directs the play, which is full of such farcical staples as door slamming and double entendre.
Our protagonists are newlyweds Peter and Frances Hunter (Gregg Hays and Elizabeth Lundquist), who live in an apartment above the bank where Peter is manager. However, their opportunity to enjoy their new nest in private is severely compromised. The first intrusion occurs when Peter’s mother, Eleanor Hunter (Cheryl Phillips), arrives with the intention of moving in for a while. The next disturbance of their peace and quiet pops up when a package of “dirty pictures” is delivered to Frances in error.
As it will never do to have such material in their home, they enlist the help of a bank employee, Brian Runnicles (Jim Eldridge), who’s nearly driven over the edge in his attempts to get rid of the naughty material. No matter how hard he tries to dump these incriminating images, they keep surfacing. His paranoia reaches fever pitch when the local police, in the person of Superintendent Paul (George Carter) get involved, warning the Hunters about an illegally parked van Brian’s fetched to cart all this stuff away.
Peter, Frances and Brian just can’t get rid of the smut. Like a bad penny, it keeps turning up. In fact, it’s multiplying. For it seems Peter has inadvertently had Frances mail 450 pounds of someone else’s money to the “sex merchants,” who then keep those cards and letters – not to mention videotapes and books – even ladies of the evening (played by Lise Eddy and Jennifer Carter) – rolling in.
Meanwhile, the three try to keep Eleanor, as well as Mr. Bromhead (Matt Laxton) and Mr. Needham (Andrew Keane) from seeing the “evidence” or running into the prostitutes.
The Camwood Players have fun with Peter and Frances’ bumbling inability to deal with these unwanted deliveries, much less enjoy them. As Peter laments, “They say it’s a permissive society, but they don’t say who allowed the permission, do they?”
Review
“No Sex Please, We’re British”: Camwood Players present the classic British farce through Oct. 2 at the Stillaguamish Grange at Stanwood-Camano Fairgrounds, 6521 Pioneer Highway, Stanwood; 360-629-4494, www.camwoodplayers.com.
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