Acadia Rep’s `Doors’ deftly twists logic

Don’t even try to figure out the first 45 minutes of Alan Ayckbourn’s time-warped comedy “Communicating Doors,” which opened Tuesday at Acadia Repertory Theatre in Somesville. And don’t expect much help from this direction. The logic of this wacko story stays one swift step ahead of even the best plot puzzlers. But that’s what’s so fun about Ayckbourn. He takes the standard British murder mystery and turns it on its clever little head.

“Communicating Doors” falls squarely into that deft tradition. It begins with Poopay, a dominatrix who shows up ready to bop at the hotel room of Reece, an ailing millionaire. She think she’s there to whip him into shape. Instead, Reece asks her to sign an unusual confession of the many personal and professional transgressions he has approved or committed through the years.

But Poopay is just a working girl. She’s not much interested in Reece’s redemption — until he has a convulsion and nearly dies at her feet. By that time, Reece’s thug friend Julian shows up and bullies Poopay well beyond the limits of her job description. When Julian tries to kill her, she flees into a closet to hide. And here’s the twist: When she comes out, Poopay is in another time zone — one of three in the show.

Ayckbourn is one of the few playwrights who could pull off this twisty-turny plot with principled elan. With more than 50 plays in his repertory, Ayckbourn has mastered the high-society thriller and rightfully takes his place as the Noel Coward-Agatha Christie heir apparent. The situational and occasionally sexual comedy in “Communicating Doors” is really funny, and since the play premiered in London in 1994 (and on Broadway a year ago), the humor has a distinctly contemporary edge to it.

Add director Wayne Loui to the mix, and you’ve got a winner of a show. Loui’s specialty is high comedy, and his talents are on copious display with the Acadia production. His choices have clarity, crispness and a fine sense of just how far you can take a farcical moment without killing it. In one scene, he swiftly piles up three actors in a racy double-entendre moment you won’t even have a chance to see coming.

Some of the performances are more convincing than others, but all of them work. The real stars, however, are Kristen E. Williams (Poopay) and Hilary Redmon (Ruella). Just try not liking their characters — Poopay because she’s a nut case, Ruella because she’s high Brit. You won’t be able to help it. These two actors are so intelligent and fluid in their roles that you’ll be cheering for them within minutes.

Ken Stack’s set, which features pool-blue walls, is simple, at times surreal and nearly perfect for the shifts between time periods. The revolving door — one of six doors onstage — works impressively well. Like the actors who work so hard to keep us on their side of the stage, the set never slips into hokey cartoonishness.

Critics consider “Communicating Doors,” a term referring to the transport system between eras, to be one of Ayckbourn’s minor comedies. But Loui and this cast elevate it to the kind of quirky, intricate entertainment that gets the audience chattering away at intermission. Who’s who? Where’s what? And how — not to mention WHERE — is it going to end?

Second acts rarely bring you back with as much enthusiasm, but this one has got you in handcuffs. It also shows a tender devotion between women, as well as the saving graces of love. The final neo-Dickensian scene teeters between sweet and sentimental, but so what? This is summer theater, after all. At its best, “Communicating Doors” is mysterious, hilarious and downright historical.

Acadia Repertory Theatre will present “Communicating Doors” 8:15 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday July 13-24 and 2 p.m. July 25 at the Masonic Hall in Somesville. For tickets, call 244-