Laughter in the Dark: The Plays of Alan Ayckbourn by Albert E. Kalson (review)

Book Reviews 423 AlBERT B. KALSON. Laughter in the Dark: The Plays ofAlan Ayckbouni. London: A ssociated University Press 1993. Pp. 201. $32.5°. Alan Ayckboum is no longer scorned by academic critics, but he is still largely ignored. Perhaps, as he is so difficult to place neatly into accepted categories, they just do not know what to say of him. That, at least, is a conclusion one might draw from Albert Kalson's book, Laughter in the Dark. A short book, packed with information, it leaves one with the impression that although the author is brimming with observations and enthusiasm he has no clear idea of just what to make of his subject. The author's knowledge of his subject is unmistakable, but he does little to develop a clear picture of what sort of dramatist Ayckbourn really is. Perhaps it is too early for that; as Ayckbourn continues to write. he continues to surprise us. So instead of an interpretation, we have here a compendium of observations about the plays, their relations to each other, and their similarities to the work of other playwrights (and film writers). Reading this book is a bit like having a series .of pleasant chats with an extremely knowledgeable Ayckboum fan. Sooner or later nearly everything is cDvered, but not in a particularly methodical or orderly fashion. The b.o.ok is most useful f.or the numerous parallels Kalson observes between .otherwise different plays both by Ayckb.oum himself and .other contemporary and modem dramatists, but little significance is drawn frDm these observations, s.o that they begin t.o seem (and perhaps are) trivial. What difference does it make, f.or instance, that beth Tennessee Williams and Ayckbeurn use a single fictional place in several different plays? Kalsen does not tell us. Our attention is drawn to interesting patterns in the plays, such as the way repressed emotional c.onflicts .often culminate in an assault with an unpleasant liquid, or the way Ayckbourn uses rituals invelving f.o.od - f.ood that is in seme way unsatisfactory. These intriguing ebservatiens are .offered and then dropped. S.ome .of his parallels are qUe&tionable. The c.omparison between Karen Knightly .of The Revengers' Comedies and Margaret Thatcher is strained bey.ond reason. The fictienal character is rich by birth, spoiled, erratic·, chamele.on-like in pers.onality, brilliantly stylish, and violently insane - none .of which c.ould be said .of the f.onner Prime Minister. even by her mDst vehement detract.ors. The most distinctive observation in the book is what Kalson calls the "A~effect," or Ayckbourn effect, a device pointedly similar to Brecht's V-effekt. Like Brecht, Ayckbourn constantly makes the audience aware that the perfonners are perf.onners, but while Brecht uses this distancing technique f.or didactic purpeses, Ayckboum does it merely f.or the pleasure of the audience. There may be a grain of truth in this, but it seems entirely teD pat. One wishes he had made mere of this interesting .observati.on. He makes a similar comparison with Shaw. Shaw, he says. forced his "didacticism".on the audience, while Ayckboum offers them a "choice" (presumably to heed the message or merely be entertained). Such comparis.ons are not fair either t.o Brecht and Shaw on the one hand, or Ayckboum on the .other. Neither.of the .older playwrights was ashamed.of entertaining, and Ayckb.oum, like all serious artists, is cemmitted t.o telling the truth as he sees it. 424 Book Reviews Any book about Britain's most popular and prolific comic dramatist is bound to be of interest to those of us who deplore his present neglect by the majority of academic critics, but this one is frustrating because the author's knowledge of the subject sug· gests that he could have done much to draw morc critical attention to Ayckboum's work. Lack of foc'us and depth together with an awkward and convoluted prose (certain passages are nearly incomprehensible) stand in the way. We still do not have a major critical interpretation of Ayckboum's work. STUART E. BAKER, FLORIDA STAlE UNIVERSITY LIZBETH GOODMAN. Contemporary Feminist Theatres: To Each Her...