The dictionary definition of “farce,” as expressed in theatrical terms, is “a type of comedy that uses absurd or unlikely situations; a light, humorous play in which the plot depends upon a skilfully exploited situation…”
This is an excellent summary of Andrew Cartmel’s Dressing Gown, directed by Jenny Eastop and running at Union Theatre until January 23rd.
Farce has a rich tradition in theatre history, although it is often associated by longer-in-the-tooth theatregoers with vicars, French maids and assorted paramours being unceremoniously shoved into wardrobes, cupboards or hiding behind sofas.
Dressing Gown may well be described as a farce for the 21st century. Whilst there may not be French maids in this production, most of the other elements of a classic farce are here; the “plot” is preposterous, there is much dashing around, hiding, escalating panic, anguished frustration, and everyone’s clothes are discarded by the play’s conclusion, replaced by varied examples of the eponymous dressing gown.
The premise of this riotous 70 minutes of action is simple. Theatre director Ash (Jamie Hutchins) just wants to get out of his dressing gown and put some clothes on, and start his day working on the play The Bearded Vulture. However, he keeps being interrupted by his colleagues involved in this production.
First up is his producer, Dan (Ryan Woodcock), all wide-eyed froth and accusatory bubble, who marches into the flat to confront Ash about his alleged affair with Dan’s girlfriend, Leyla, who also happens to be the leading lady in the play.
We then encounter the brittle, somewhat egotistical, and crisply sarcastic playwright Jenna (Freya Alderson), who arrives to vent her frustrations about actors improvising, paraphrasing, and not reading the lines as she wrote them.
No sooner has the increasingly frantic and exasperated Ash poured oil on these particular troubled waters, narcissistic and needy Layla (Rosie Edwards) appears, clutching a bunch of red roses and demanding to know why Dan bought her flowers when it is not her birthday. Is he having an affair? How might she make him jealous?
Dan, Freya and Layla beautifully combine to test Ash’s patience, professionalism, composure and self-control to the maximum. Misunderstandings, misinterpretations, innuendos, paranoia, and a flow of awkward yet quick-witted conversations ensue for the next 70 minutes as absurdity piles upon absurdity, creating a Jenga of brittle personal and professional relationships that look likely to crash to the ground at any given moment.
Who would have thought that all of this turmoil, bewilderment, and turbulent commotion could stem from a misheard snatch of conversation, where “resilient” is confused with “Brazilian”? Little wonder that Ash cannot find time to get dressed.
In Dressing Gown, we have ensemble playing of the highest order. All of the actors deliver superbly nuanced and observed performances. The narrative crackles along at a frantic, yet controlled pace. Under Jenny Eastop’s direction, the four of them make Cartmel’s script come to life beautifully, extracting every drop of humour from the dialogue and the wider situation.
Those who are familiar with the tropes of the theatre will also enjoy the clear-eyed yet empathetic exposition of the tantrums, tensions, backbiting, egos, self-absorption and insecurities of the profession exemplified by those involved in “The Bearded Vulture”, whose fragile egos so interrupt Ash’s day and his mental equilibrium.
Whilst the 70 minute duration of the play means that it doesn’t really have time to go stale, there is a sense that it ends at just the right time, as the energy in the last five minutes does start to ebb a little, combined with a sense that there is nowhere else for the plot to go as the artifice has run its course.
In short, Dressing Gown is a hugely enjoyable slice of preposterous nonsense, well-crafted and confidently executed. It is a piece that provides much-needed relief from the trials and tribulations of the real world. A real tonic for a dark January night.
Review by Johnny Oxford
Tom Asher has two immediate aims. To prevent his life tipping into catastrophe. And to get dressed.
It turns out neither will be easy — in fact both rapidly escalate towards impossibility — as he fends off a series of eccentric visitors whose sole aim seems to be test his patience, his professionalism, his sanity — and his resolve not to be dragged into a disastrous liaison with an alluring young woman who really just wants revenge on her boyfriend, who just happens to be Tom’s best friend and his business partner. What unfolds is an hilarious series of events, underscoring the significance of the simple (or complicated) act of getting dressed.
CAST
Jamie Hutchins, Rosie Edwards, Ryan Woodcock, Freya Alderson
CREATIVES
Director – Jenny Eastop
Writer – Andrew Cartmel
Producer – Thursday Theatre
Executive Producer – Ben Aaronovitch
Marketing and PR – Christine Whiteway
DRESSING GOWN
Union Theatre, 229 Union Street, London SE1 0LR
7 to 23 January 2026
