Hasana Productions presented Patrice Frith Hayward's kitchen sink comedy 'Just Say It' at the City Hall Theatre last week.

I caught the Friday performance with a near capacity audience that was in stitches for most of the play.

'Just Say It' takes place in present day Bermuda when Dexter and Shan, a married couple, invite their friends Kia and Troy, their unmarried neighbours to live with them while renovations are being carried out at Kia's house. Throw in Dexter's ever-present opinionated sister, Mel, who waltzes into the house whenever she desires and you have a recipe for hilarity or potentially arresting drama.

With consistent strong portrayals by the cast and good comedic timing along with a script peppered with Bermudian issues and truly funny albeit often obvious one-liners the hilarity was certainly achieved.

Roddy Nesbitt was spot on as the slightly mischievous and gregarious Dexter, nicely contrasting his slightly uptight and prudish wife played by Nikita Robinson. Initially they seemed like the perfect couple, almost too good to be true, with their tithing, donating to charity and house, that is "paid for". They are complete opposites of the debt ridden, perpetually arguing Troy and Kia, played convincingly by comedian, Bootsie and Lauren Perinchief. In fact, although it appears that the hosts are most negatively affected by the new living situation, I couldn't help but think how irritating it would be to live with such a self-righteous twosome, repeatedly patting themselves on the backs for their sensible living.

The no nonsense, brutally honest Mel was played by Tina Duke and she had some of the funnier lines. Tina exhibited a real talent for comedy whilst also creating a very familiar Bermudian character. Her partner, the Zen-like, unflappable Eddie, was played with subtlety and real presence by Tyrone Smith.

Although the play centred on the issues between the other two couples I found the dynamic between Mel and Eddie most captivating. They appeared as complete equals, retaining their individuality with a relationship built on mutual respect, support and tolerance and they seemed refreshingly unconventional despite her constant cooking. I fell in love with both characters.

Rounding out the cast were Ryan Bean, hilarious as the jovial Jerome who visits to escape his domineering wife whom we never see and Gina Davis who portrayed Barb, the female contractor working on Kia's house.

Although played with aplomb, Barb, a broad caricature seemed a bit out of place in the play pushing her portions into farce and somewhat skewing the balance of the piece. A superfluous character that did nothing for the progression of the storyline, Barb was obviously created for laughs and possibly to suggest that the renovations might go on indefinitely because of the fact that her intelligence and integrity were questionable.

One of the strong points of the writing was the realism of the dialogue which all seemed very natural. The character of Barb only served to call that realism into question and make the theme and intention seem a bit confused. It is a bit of a shame because Gina really did a fine job, her physical comedy outstanding.

While 'Just Say It' was undoubtedly funny and the characterisations vivid and blessed with an excellent cast there were some noticeable problems with the writing and staging.

There were portions where very natural and authentic dialogue shifted into preaching in order to highlight social ills like absentee fathers or not living within one's means. Surely these are topical issues but I believe it is important to allow even messages about morality and responsibility to be organic parts of the play and dialogue and to emerge in less obvious sentiment.

There were too many unnecessary breaks between scenes, especially when the following scene was happening in the same place. This may have been to suggest the passage of time but the same could have been accomplished with a short dimming of the lights or complete blackout.

The split-set that allowed simultaneous viewing of the kitchen and guest bedroom was impressive and most ingeniously employed so that the audience could be privy to separate conversations between the two cohabiting couples. Unfortunately the stringed one-liners in this particular instance made light work of this interesting convention.

The performance with the most nuance as Bootsie's. He garnered my empathy in his portrayal of a man who has been wronged in the past by a woman. He initially appeared to be quite despicable but even before the audience learned of his personal pain it was obvious that much of his bravado and seeming detachment was a front. The emotional resolution of his character's problems with his girlfriend of ten years was well performed by both, a fitting climax that was only slightly diminished by the incredulity demonstrated by an audience ill prepared for such a dramatic scene following so much tomfoolery before.

Patrice Frith Hayward's play, which she also admirably directed and produced was definitely entertaining, a spirited work with flaws, brought to life by a truly impressive cast. For me it is the cast that makes the evening memorable.