Action Replay
by Fay Weldon
31 Dec 1989
On the surface this is a study of the shifting inter-relationships between three young couples, following the developments through a span of 25 years. Borrowing a presentation method from television sporting coverage, the action is repeated, sometimes in quite brief scenes, with subtle and often radical differences. Many more layers of investigation are made than would have been possible with a straightorward narrative technique.
To some extent the method resembles that used by Priestly in 'Dangerous Corner', but whereas in that play the single repeat led up to a single small incident and the momentous consequences which might or night not follow, here many repeats are used to present the characters in different lights and situations in order to examine, with symapthy and a certain ironic humour, a vast part of the whole male/female relationship.