After their brilliant production of Alan Ayckbourn’s Woman in Mind last week, I was very excited to see what York DramaSoc were going to do next, and to see whether the quality of their productions differed. Luckily for me, their next show was the first ever student production of Mark Cantan’s Jezebel, a modern comedy that pokes fun at our ever-growing desire for excitement and fresh ideas in the bedroom.

Jezebel follows couple Alan (Sam Zak) and Robin (Britt Borkan). They seem absolutely perfect for one another, but a few months into their relationship, they begin to wonder whether their sex life is letting them down. They decide to work their way down a massive list of different sexual activities, and finally decide to give what they see as the ultimate fantasy every couple dreams of – a threesome. With this in mind, they go out and look for another woman to make their company a crowd, and bump into weird artist Jezebel (Anna Mawn) in a nightclub. While Jezebel drools over some ridiculous bloke in a beard, Alan and Robin tentatively wander over to her and suggest their big idea. She accepts their offer, and so heads back to their house for a pretty big night. Alan and Robin wake up the next day pretty satisfied, but it isn’t long before Alan gets a phone call from Jezebel telling him she’s pregnant… and he’s the father!

What follows is a brilliantly well-executed farce that never drops in pace. The actors deliver the witty dialogue of Cantan’s script with ease and finesse, stealing loads of laughs from the audience as they take them on a hilarious journey. The dialogue, as well as the performance itself, is nice and accessible, and there’s nothing hard-hitting or emotionally difficult here – it’s simply a pleasant comedy that makes for a great evening out. The characters and their physicality are bold and strong, with each one adding a nice bit of variety to the performance throughout.

The scenography of the production is also good, with simple changes in lighting taking the audience to different locations, accompanied by simple changes in sound and couple of pieces of music to add a sprinkling of substance. The simplistic set also allows the audience to focus on the crackling dialogue and characters, with a collage of white triangles covering the back wall of the set to remind us that this is a prime example of the classic love triangle that often makes for the best theatre. While some plays harness it in a dramatic way, Jezebel just tips loads of sickly sugar onto it to make it funny and enjoyable to watch.

Jezebel is a brilliant little comedy about our desires and where they can lead us. Even if those destinations might be awkward – especially when they end up in getting two different women pregnant – the play itself is certainly not. It’s funny, fresh and definitely relevant.

Jezebel played the Drama Barn at the University of York. For more information, see the University of York Students’ Union website. Photo by EJS Photography.