Jumpy, by British playwright April De Angelis and directed by Pamela Rabe, opens Melbourne Theatre Company’s 2015 season. First produced at London’s Royal Court Theatre in 2011, it is a modern-day comedy of manners whose plot and subject matter owe much to the television sitcom. Its humour relies on bedroom intrigues, blunt sexual dialogue, marital dissatisfaction, and the laments of middle age. With tired jokes about sexual politics, it falls short of cutting-edge satire but is an entertaining romp, with plenty of scope for physical comedy. 

At the same time, Jumpy is a drawing-room drama, albeit an open-plan drawing room with white leather couches. Hilary (Jane Turner), a fifty-year-old mother, is facing her own midlife meltdown while reining in her fifteen-year-old daughter, Tilly (Brenna Harding). Tilly is determined to break all the rules and live life her way, risking disasters, pregnancy included. The intergenerational conflict is accompanied by other conflicts and dramas: marital discord, infidelity, and midlife angst.