Diogenes to Cook Up Some Laughs with “Relatively Speaking”

Sneak Peak by Prabir Das of Relatively Speaking: Diogenes Theatre Company

The cast of Diogenes'
The cast of Diogenes’ “Relatively Speaking”

 

Diogenes Theatre Company opens its 2015-16 season with Alan Ayckbourn“™s comedic masterpiece Relatively Speaking at the Aronoff Center“™s Fifth Third Black Box Theater, November 11 through November 22, 2015.

Following the terrific success of a full blown 2014-15 debut season with heavyweight plays such as Bibi, Diogenes has decided to take a bold and sharp turn through the season opener Relatively Speaking. Alan Ayckbourn is known for his fascination for the middle-class marital angst that eventually became his specialty. In this play, Relatively Speaking, Alan Ayckbourn has spiced up the complexities of such a relationship which one might otherwise expect to be untangled and bland. But if cooked inappropriately, the recipe can surely generate an aroma of a tongue twisting tangy taste when everyone finds that certain twist of their relationships based on their relative perceptions. This is where the play really becomes a game and we wait through the wit only to witness whether they are finally able to untangle it all.

According to the information released by the Diogenes Theatre Company, “œGinny goes to the house of her older lover, Phillip, in order to end a relationship and to retrieve some compromising letters. Matters are complicated when her current partner, Greg, also turns up and meets Sheila, Phillip“™s wife, believing her to be Ginny’s mother. Confusion ensues, as the characters become more and more tangled in their own attempts to hide the truth about who they really are and their unspoken relationships to each other.“

Robert Pavlovich, following his stunning one man performance in Bibi, returns in Relatively Speaking as Phillip. Abby Rowold enacts Sheila, Phillip“™s wife, who is assumed by Ginny’s ‘current partner’ Greg to be Ginny’s mother (portrayed by Bailie Breaux). Greg“™s character is played by Patrick Phillips. These are four brilliant chefs who are ready to light up the stage and take the audience through a full course hilarious menu.  We expect our hearts to melt down to our tummies and our smiling lips to sweeten our hearts, because this tetrad has as its nucleus the high acclaimed director Brian Isaac Phillips.

According to Jeff Landen of Diogenes Theatre Company, “œWe are thrilled to have such a great team for such a great play…Brian Isaac Phillips is obviously a brilliant director, and the actors each bring an excellent sense of comedic timing to a show that is simply chock full of laughs.“

A great theatrical experience is about to unveil for Cincinnati patrons.

Performances of Relatively Speaking are scheduled from November 11 – November 22, 2015 on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 pm, with a final matinee performance on Sunday, November 22, at 2 pm.

The Fifth Third Black Box Theater is part of the Aronoff Center. The entrance to the intimate performance space is at the corner of Seventh and Main. Single ticket prices are $29, with students welcome for the reduced price of $14.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the Aronoff Center box office at 650 Walnut Street, online at CincinnatiArts.org, or by phone at (513) 621-2787.