J.B. Priestley’s farcical comedy When We Are Married plays at the Tivoli Theatre in February.
Best known for his time-shifting thriller An Inspector Calls, Priestley also had a great gift for comedy. Set in 1908 in Yorkshire, where Priestley was born, When We Are Married ridicules the smugness and hypocrisy of the Edwardian middle class.
Three well-to-do couples – the Helliwells, Parkers, Soppitts – married on the same day, at the same church, and by the same vicar, join to celebrate 25 years of blissful matrimony. Disaster strikes with the shocking revelation that the vicar who married them wasn’t actually licensed – these pillars of the church and the community aren’t as respectably married as they thought they were!
As the home truths fly like confetti and conjugal rites turn to farcical fights, an evening of sparkling comic mayhem erupts. With a photographer from the local paper due to arrive any second, a missing housekeeper and a doorbell that won’t stop ringing, can the three couples keep a lid on their embarrassing secret? Penned in 1938, this is a classic comedy that is a blessed union of laughs and surprises.
The play is directed by Richard Neal and his cast are Gary Paine, Beverley Beck, Tony Feltham, Boo Feltham, Colin Pile, Tracie Billington-Beardsley, Rob Cording-Cook, Jo Eva Edington, Chris Durham, Michelle Barter, Chrissie Neal, Bethan Morris, Richard Scotson and Simon Jackson.
When We Are Married is produced by Wimborne Drama Productions and runs at the Tivoli from 17 to 19 February – evening performances at 7.30pm (tickets £15) and there’s a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm (tickets £13). Contact the Tivoli Theatre to book – 01202 885566 or online at tivoliwimborne.co.uk