Alphabetical Order, a Play by Michael Frayn, Reviewed

Michael Frayn - Cambridge - 2011 (Photo credit: Chris Boland)
Plays are, of course, intended to beseen, experienced, rather than read. However, as a writer who has had a radioplay broadcast by the redoubtable BBC, I have an interest in play scripts, andenjoy reading them as well.
Michael Frayn has a reputation as aplaywright who understands comedy. And AlphabeticalOrder is a great example of his strength in creating humour. The stagesetting remains unchanged throughout the 2 acts, except for some 'tidying'essential to the story. So, the whole action takes place within the library ofa local newspaper and involves the librarians and some of the reporting andeditorial staff.
Having worked on a local paper, as aphotographer, I have some empathy with the characters portrayed and someunderstanding of their peculiar pressures and priorities. The characters arewell drawn, using the playwright's only real tool; that of dialogue. It'spossible to picture them on the stage from the script, because they are so welldescribed by their chosen words and what they have to say or what is said aboutthem by other characters; the essence of a stage play.
The action is minimal, as is the plot,but the play covers a great deal of ground in terms of character building andrelationship development. There are plenty of jokes and many occasions given tolaughter, both with and at the characters. But there is pathos too. The aura ofgentle decay and the overriding sense of futility combine with the overallfrivolity of the dialogue, which hides those secrets that lurk beneath thesurface of the spoken text. So, there are some surprises but the drama playsout more or less as expected.
The denouement is slightly surprising inthe way it happens, but the reader realises that the outcome was, in fact,inevitable, given the natures of the characters and their employment. Typicalof the very English setting and characterisation, there is a lot more beneaththe surface, unstated but alluded to, making the play a multi-layeredexperience.
I enjoyed this, and recommend it tothose who enjoy their drama in thoughtful but gentle comedy form.