Skios by Michael Frayn (Faber and Faber)
by Patrick O'Connor
ONE of the dictionary definitions of farce is 'a light dramatic work in which highly improbable plot situations, exaggerated characters, and often slapstick elements are used for humorous effect.'
The playwright and novelist Michael Frayn is perhaps best known for his 1982 stage comedy Noises Off but he also a very accomplished writer and this offering, set on the fictitious Greek island of Skios, contains all the ingredients for an enjoyable farce.
Two Brits – one a feckless playboy Oliver Fox and the other, Dr Norman Wilfred, a celebrated scientist and lecturer – arrive on the island.
Fox is heading for a casual assignation with a girlfriend, Wilfred is due to give a lecture to an international audience at the renowned Fred Toppler Foundation.
Purely on a whim, Fox steps forward when he sees the name 'Dr Norman Wilfred' being held up and assumes the other man's identity and also takes his luggage.
Wilfred, on the other hand, ends up at the villa where Fox was due to meet his girlfriend and the author indulges himself in every sort of possible story line involving mistaken identity.
The plot is indeed highly improbable and the characterisation is not particularly strong but Frayn takes the reader on an enjoyable romp.
The narrative hops and skips towards a climax, a far more dramatic than one would normally expect from this genre but then Frayn is an exceptionally storyteller.