Edward Alderton Theatre Home | News | This Season | Next Season | Bookings | Auditions | Members | Archive | History | Location | Links | Contact Us   The Odd Couple by Neil Simon Directed by Vera Robinson 8-15 October 1977 (7 performances) Felix and Oscar are an extremely odd couple: Felix is anally retentive, neurotic and fastidiously clean. Oscar, on the other hand, is the exact opposite: sloppy and casual. They are sharing an apartment together, and their differing lifestyles inevitably lead to some conflicts and laughs. Cast Murray John Midlane Roy Steve Marshall Vinnie David Hampton Speed Tony Donnelly Oscar Madison Colin Hill Felix Ungar George Robinson Cecily Pigeon Patricia Robertson Gwendolyn Pigeon Maureen Hardwen Crew Stage Manager Shirley Jacobs Assistant Stage Managers Fay Rose, Christine Milkins, Pearl Ayling, Marilynn Matthews, Vivian Rintoul, Gillian Leggat Set Design Tony Otton Lighting  Toby Moore, Peter Meehan, Pat Martin Sound Bill Ayling, John King   Review Hint of effeminacy is misplaced Innocence and self-restraint are rare in comedy playwrights. So many good comedy ideas are ruined by the writer insisting on sitting down with his audience and nudging them too hard to laugh. Neil Simon, in his The Odd Couple, currently on at the Edward Alderton Theatre, Brampton Road, Bexleyheath, does not sell out his original germ of an idea. He restrains himself from getting the obvious cheap laughs from his situation of two men setting up house together. There is not even a hint of homosexuality — that sure­fire way of making an audience titter — and so the sight of two perfectly masculine men bickering like husband and wife is all the funnier. That is why the one fault to be found in Vera Robinson's direction at the Edward Alderton is that she makes Felix too effeminate. Felix (played by George Robinson) is the 'wife' of the couple, and his flounces and sulks were deservedly received with shrieks of laughter from the audience. But surely Neil Simon's point was that the two newly-found bachelors carry on just as they did when they were married, except more so. It should have been Felix's neurotic self which should have been exaggerated with the delightfully unexpected result that he became the couple's 'wife'. Simon is not kind to women in the play.  Having said that, the production must be praised for its professional polish — always a trademark of an Edward Alderton show. Colin Hill (Oscar) mastered the New York accent with ease, and the timing of his lines was a lesson to comic actors. Set designer Tony Otton and his crew should be mentioned for the faultless backdrop they constructed.  G R Bexley Times | 20 October 1977