On 18 February 2016 we, the students of the FOS 13 (and some other students from our ‘Berufskolleg’), went to the ‘Schauspielhaus Bochum’ to see the play ‘Familiengeschäfte’ (A Small Family Business) by the famous English playwright Alan Ayckbourn, which we had read in class before.
It is about a family which owns a furniture company called Ayres and Graces. It was founded by Ken Ayres, but he hands over the leading position to his son-in-law Jack McCracken. The whole family comes together to celebrate this, but the cheerful atmosphere quickly disappears when Benedict Hough, a private detective, interrupts the party and he accuses Jack’s daughter Samantha of shoplifting. He threatens that he will put Samantha in jail, if Jack doesn’t give him the job as a private investigator in the company.
And so the story unfolds into a dark, but also funny tale about this family as we learn more about the shady sides of Ayres and Graces.
The production in Bochum is fascinating for several reasons.
To begin with, the stage designer has done an extraordinary job regarding the light and sound. The stage design is absolutely gorgeous. They have built a very detailed replica of the house of Jack; it is exactly like you would imagine it to be after reading the play. The house is on a revolving stage; it has two floors and there is even real water in the bathroom.
The actors are also phenomenal; they bring every character of the play to life. They capture the heart and soul of each character and get it across to the audience. They even involve the audience by speaking directly to them.
All in all, the play is a little bit funnier than the original script of Alan Ayckbourn, but nonetheless delivers the same central message that has been intended by the writer.
The original play is in English. And when you translate a play that can cause some serious problems, because sometimes the jokes only work in the original language. But that is no problem in this case. It is quite the opposite. They have done a really good job translating
‘A Small Family Business’ into German and the jokes still work very well.
Unfortunately, the staging in Bochum has a few downsides as well.
For example, sometimes you can’t concentrate on the main topic because there are too many distractions, like unnecessary side activities.
Besides, some passages from the original play are left out. One scene from the end of the play is dropped completely; which is a pity, because it is a very interesting part.
Furthermore, it is probably very difficult (for someone who knows nothing about the play) to recognize the characters and figure out who is who and who is related to whom.
The end is a bit too dark and exaggerated with a lot of blood.
The final applause, however, showed that everybody had enjoyed the evening in the ‘Schauspielhaus’. We also think that the production is highly recommendable, because
it exceeds all expectations and is great fun for everybody.
Because of the impressive song in the last scene the message sticks in your mind; at least we are still thinking about it.
We would visit the Schauspielhaus a second time, not least because the price for student tickets is quite low in relation to what you get in return.
The students of the FOS 13b
