Addingham Drama Group’s first play of 2023 opens at the end of this month, and they’ve gone big, opting for Alan Ayckbourn’s ambitious comedy, How the Other Half Loves. Ackybourn’s plays are famous for being fast-paced farces and this one is no exception.

Set in the late 1970s, this is a play with promiscuity at its heart. It exposes the lives of three very different couples – the Fosters, Philips and the Featherstones – and explores how they all become inextricably linked through lies, deception and complete misunderstandings. It’s an intricate production that has a bit of anything – laughs, silly antics and spiralling chaos, but it is also serious at times, and the characters are well drawn, taking you on a journey as the play progresses.

The set also stands out as unusual. It is a split stage, something rarely seen in the theatre, and adds to the ambitious nature of the show. It simultaneously displays both the Philips’ and Foster’s lives, meaning that the characters sometimes pass each other (or are standing directly next to each other!) despite being in “different” houses. You can imagine how hard that’s been to rehearse and direct.

The cast of six are all familiar faces on the Addingham stage, and they are thrilled to be back. Lisa Jones-Tinsley, the director, is a new face at the drama group and is relishing her first directorial experience there, ‘We are well into our rehearsals now, with all the experimenting, disputing and discussing you’d expect. We’re going along at a great pace, putting everything into each rehearsal. It’s been a great experience, with a very talented group and I can’t wait to get it in front of an audience.’

Addingham Drama Group only puts on two plays a year, so make sure you don’t miss out. The play runs from 25-29 April at Addingham Memorial Hall  and tickets (£8) are available at: ticketsource.co.uk/adg or 07849 450489.