What happens when you mix two couples together for a long weekend?

If Norm Foster is involved, you’ll get a great deal of laughter, some insight into the reasons that marriages fail, and some plot twists that could only happen on stage.

The Long Weekend is Elmira Theatre Company’s annual dinner theatre production, and they have taken Foster’s classic comedic style and made it their own.

Perennial favourite Deb Deckert shines as Wynn Trueman, a clinical psychologist who is prone to analyze everyone around her, including her spouse, Max, and best friend, Abby Nash.

Abby, meanwhile (played in hilarious fashion by Cathy Judd), runs her own clothing boutique, and always finds ways to subtly criticize the style choices of Wynn.

The men in the play — Max Trueman (Joe Brenner) and Roger Nash (Thom Smith) — abhor each other, yet pretend to enjoy each other’s company.

This complicated friendship between the couples comes together in a long weekend getaway at the Truemans’ second home.

It becomes, for the Truemans, a chance to show off, in hopes of impressing their “friends,” even while they pretend it has more to do with being together.

Through the weekend, a secret romance comes to light, past indiscretions are aired, and the subtle competition between female friends becomes far less subtle.

Through it all, humour is at the forefront.

Roger Nash, who retired from teaching at a highschool after a student “threatened” him with a knife (in reality, a plastic spoon) has spent the last year working on a screenplay. For six months, he claims he had writer’s block. His wife, Abby, helpfully points out that “it wasn’t writer’s block, Roger. You were stuck on one word.”

The word?

He needed a replacement for “pacify.” Roger chose “assuage,” which is, of course, used by absolutely no one.

This tells the audience immediately what kind of person Roger is — a persnickety, nervous man who obsesses over little things, including a $32 bar tab that Max never repaid.

Each couple has its own bickering charm, with Wynn and Max arguing over the placement of hors d’oeuvres on the table, or whether it is a “host” duty to accompany a guest back to the car when he has forgotten an item. (According to Max, it is not a host duty until that item has been stolen.)

It’s this kind of back-and-forth banter and clever writing that keeps the audience laughing, even as the play enters the serious issue of failed marriages.

Through the revealing conversations that the spouses have about the other couples, we learn a great deal about everyone involved, which is why it is not entirely surprising when we find out that Max and Abby are getting ready to embark on an affair.

Nor is it surprising that Wynn suspects something, and foists herself on Roger, in retaliation.

All of these interludes lead to the ultimate separation of the couples — who return to the scene of the crime, two years later.

It is then that Foster’s brilliance shines through, as he reveals just how quickly infatuation can turn to disgust, as the relatively new couples share dissatisfaction with their new lives.

While Foster uses humour to bring home the adage that “the grass is always greener on the other side,” there is still a great deal of truth in the story of marriages falling apart simply because those involved think something better is out there — and then find out it is not.

So, in spite of its light-hearted approach, The Long Weekend still gives the audience a great deal to think about, once the weekend is over.

The actors in this performance of The Long Weekend are all quite strong, and show great comedic timing, but Deb Deckert, as always, rises to the top. In particular, her demonstration of the difference between a “jog” and a “flee” can only be seen, not described.

Thom Smith is also strong as the nervous and excitable Roger, while Joe Brenner fares well as Wynn Trueman’s longsuffering husband.

Cathy Judd also holds her own against Deckert, no mean feat, and manages to convey the reckless abandon that leads her to an affair with her best friend’s husband.

All in all, The Long Weekend is an enjoyable night out, well worth the cost of admission.

Tickets for The Long Weekend are available at The Centre in the Square box office, by calling 519-578-1570. The Long Weekend runs until Nov. 29.