Matthew van Wettering, Michelle Volpe Roe, Clifton Chadwick, Abby van Gerpen, Colleen Neary McClure, and Yannig Morin Photo by Howen Photography

In 1999's House and Garden, for example, two plays run simultaneously in adjacent theaters, so that characters from the play that takes place inside a house exit to the garden (i.e., onto the stage of the neighboring theater) and characters from the garden go next door into the house, and back and forth. Innovative, indeed. But back in 1970, the equally clever How the Other Half Loves opened in London and put Ayckbourn on the map.

Here, there's only one stage, but two distinct living rooms occupy it. The upscale one belongs to Frank and Fiona Foster. You never find out what kind of business Frank is in, but he's a manager of some sort and you can tell from the wallpaper and the tableware and Fiona's wardrobe that he makes good money. The other part of the stage is where Frank's employee Bob Phillips and his wife Terry and their young son live. It's pretty much a mess.

Henry Avery, who also directed the show, designed a perfect set that allows the action in both living rooms to play out at the same time. Conversations are going on in both homes on the same stage and the actors crisscross in front of each other, but the script is so brilliantly written that it all seems perfectly normal and never gets confusing. Two dinner parties, one on Thursday evening at the Fosters, the other on Friday evening at the Phillipses, take place simultaneously at the same table. You have to see it to believe it.

The play could be called a classic farce, except that there are only a couple doors. The plot is essentially a situation comedy: A little bit of adultery provokes a few little lies to cover it up, and a cascade of misapprehensions follows. It really is remarkably well written and hilarious. Neil Simon must have been jealous.

The flow of dialogue and the flow of movement about the stage are all-important in this play, and Henry Avery has directed the actors so well that it all rolls along seamlessly. The English accents are good to boot. All of the acting is top notch, but the facial expressions of Michelle Volpe Roe, Yannig Morin, and Colleen Neary McClure are priceless. Clifton Chadwick as Frank has the very British conversational skill of beating around the bush down pat. Matthew van Wettering and Abby van Gerpen are equally fine as the exasperated Phillipses in a recurring "let's break up, then let's get together again" relationship.

I've already mentioned the excellent set design by Henry Avery, but a lot of credit also goes to Mattie Roos who painted the set and Nina Dorrance who did the set dressing and props. The costumes by Chris Appleton are period perfect, and lighting design by Riley Lewis is unobtrusive and just right.

I predict that at the end of this year, I will think back on all the shows I saw in 2025, and this will be one of the two or three best comedies of the year. Possibly the best.

How the Other Half Loves, presented by West End Productions, runs through June 29, 2025, at the North Fourth Theatre, 4904 Fourth Street NW, Albuquerque NM. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30, Sundays at 2:00. Tickets are $20 to $24. For tickets and information, please visit westendproductions.org.