The Odd Couple

The apartment is a hotly contested battleground between Oscar and Felix. The physical staging of the apartment allows the audience to see the extent of how Oscar’s and Felix’s attitudes impact their environment and contribute to the deterioration of their relationship. Their various conflicts over its maintenance highlight each man’s flaws in their past marriages.

The initial staging of the apartment is a physical reminder of Oscar’s shortcomings. At the beginning of Act 1, Simon’s stage directions describe the apartment as “a study in slovenliness,” featuring “Dirty dishes, discarded clothes, old newspapers, empty bottles, glasses filled and unfilled, opened and unopened laundry packages, mail and disarrayed furniture abound” (5). Oscar frequently chalks this up to his divorce, but his behavior suggests otherwise. Stage directions for the actor playing Oscar involve physical cues, such as “wip[ing] his hands on the sleeve of Roy’s jacket which is hanging on the back of the chair” (10). Both the setting and blocking show the extent of Oscar’s apathy and selfishness.

Conversely, the apartment under Felix’s influence is immaculate. Simon’s stage directions describe it as “Sterile! Spotless! Not a speck of dirt can be seen under the ten coats of Johnson’s Glo-Coat that have been applied in the last two weeks.