Private Fears Intensely Ayckbourn

Here are some of the private fears in Alan Ayckbourn’s 2004 work, Private Fears in Public Places: I’m engaged to a loser; I wrecked my career; I’ve been stood up; I hate my father; I have a secret life; I’m gay and in the closet; we are pathetic. The public places are an apartment, bar, café, and real estate office intertwined through Ron Krempetz’ jumbled set. Here the play’s seven characters intersect one another’s lives.

First on stage is Nicola, a professional-looking young woman who is looking at an apartment with her obliging and hopeful real estate agent, Stewart. The apartment isn’t quite suitable, she says. Her fiancé, who’ll be living here too, has insisted on a room for his study, and there isn’t quite enough space because one of the rooms has been divided. Dan, the fiancé, is supposed to have met her here, but since he didn’t, she can’t agree. Never mind, Stewart smiles brightly; he has other properties to show her.

Dan is at his usual hotel bar, ordering “Same again,” from Ambrose, the bartender. After work, Ambrose will go home to his roaring-offstage father, for whom he needs an additional caretaker while he works an extra night job. The caretaker turns out to be Charlotte, Stewart’s office worker, who is also taking on another job. And Stewart’s week ends with Sunday games of Scrabble with his sister, Imogen. None of the characters has a last name.

Of them all, Charlotte is the most complex. Snugly buttoned up in her spinsterish grey sweater, Charlotte carries her Bible with her everywhere, especially when she’s tending to Arthur, Ambrose’s horrible father. But Charlotte has another life that acts as a secret weapon with the crockery-smashing old tyrant.

Alan Ayckbourn is the second-most performed playwright in the English language -- Shakespeare’s first – and this is his 67th play out of 72. Some, like Absurd Person Singular, The Norman Conquests, and Communicating Doors were manic comedies, but Private Fears is not one of them. It’s a bleak play, and it’s delivered in fast scene changes, “a film on stage.” It demands a strong cast, a strong director and almost a choreographer to pull it together. Happily, Ross Valley Players has assembled them from all over the Bay Area.

Director Jessica Holt describes the play as “a collective portrait of people who are deeply, achingly lonely,” and she adheres to that vision throughout. Stewart (Keith Jefferds) is steadily upbeat in his smiling desperation. Dan (Patrick Barresi) barely functions away from his bar stool. Ambrose (Jim Fye) has been locked-down so long, he can barely move at all. Nicola (Dana Zook) gives up the idea of marriage and freezes in place. Imogen, Stewart’s sister (Lauren Rosi) wants to quit weekly Scrabble, but can’t get beyond the bar scene. Charlotte (Linnea George) wrestles mightily with the Devil, but lets the Devil win sometimes. And the offstage rantings of old Arthur (Hugh Campion) reveal the dungeon he’s made of his own mind.

In this production, special credit should go to the lighting and sound designers, Carrie Mullen and Greg Scharpen, for signaling the quick scene changes, and to Dialect Coach, Rebecca Castelli, for crafting smooth English accents in this non-British cast.

Private Fears in Public Places will be at the new, improved Barn Theatre (new restrooms!) in the Marin Art & Garden Center in Ross through August 16. Performances are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, and 7:30 p.m. Thursdays. Prices range from $15 - $25.

This play is performed without intermission, and it is almost two hours long. Some shows are almost sold out. For reservations, please call 456-9555 or see the website, www.rossvalleyplayers.com.