AIBU about this Marriage Care roleplay?

[DillyGently]

DP and I had to attend a Marriage Care course over the weekend (because we're getting married in a Catholic chuch)
Most of the day was about how important it is to communicate to make a marriage work. At the end, 2 volunteers (both late 50's) did a little mini sketch to show us bad examples and good examples of communication in a marriage:

Husband and Wife - Husband exclaims to Wife how he loves having steak (which she cooks for him) every Friday - mimes having just finished a steak dinner - he bangs on and on about how nice it is.

Wife sighs and says she just wishes they could do something different - she's bored having steak at home every Friday

Husband argues that he really, really likes steak every Friday

Wife suggests that one time, they go out for dinner instead?

Husband says no, that would be too expensive

Wife sighs and repeats that it would be nice to do something different, like maybe go on a break somewhere hot, or do something (anything) different to their routine

Husband announces that he has already booked their holiday to the Lake District, which is where they go every year

Wife sighs again and says it always rains and she'd much prefer to go somewhere hot

Husband says they can't go abroad as it's too much money and she already has a nice pair of wellies she can wear in the Lakes.

This continued for a bit, with the wife whinging and sighing and the Husband categorically rejecting everything she says until eventually H says:
'People are getting made redundant at work so we can't go out for dinner or on a different holiday as I'm worried about money'

Wife says 'oh you didn't tell me that', and the Husband and her go and watch TV.

AND THEN the two Marriage Care people broke out of their sketch, to APPLAUSE from the room and said
'So you see, with good communication, you can get to the underlying issues in a relationship'.
AND THAT WAS IT!!!

I could feel DP growing more tense next to me - I think he was waiting for me to actually remove my bra, set fire to it and throw it at the volunteers

AIBU to think what they displayed there was like something from the 50s where the man earns the money, makes the decisions and the wife puts up and shuts up (and cooks dinner)?!!

I couldn't help it - I said (politely) I didn't think it was good communication, the Wife basically just backed down and the Husband didn't listen to her needs at all

DP (god love him) then said (also politely) that if the Husband skipped his steak every Friday for a month, they could use the money saved (as steak is expensive) and spend it on eating out somewhere

The 2 volunteers were REALLY offended and explained why they were right for 10 minutes before it got really awkward and we just nodded and edged towards the door...

Is it just us? All the other couples said nothing - maybe they are more polite than me and DP?

Maybe I should have left numbers out of it altogether and just called the roleplay outdated

I am very bad at estimating people's ages and tend to think: "I reckon he's about as old as FIL" when in fact there could, in reality, be quite a few years difference I suppose.

I think MIL was 19 at time of marriage - will have to check now. FWIW - she rode an illegally-fast motorbike at that time and is just as outraged about the passport issue now as she was then - she's awesome.

Yup, but then maybe someone else might have concentrated on the catholic aspect of your OP

Are you going back? Could you and OH offer up an alternative? Might be fun... maybe....

Lazy I'm going to go out on a limb and say you don't know my grandma or why she chose to burn her bra. If she was alone on the village green merrily burning her bra AND pants like a loon, but doing so as a women's rights gesture, then good for her, I say.
Doesn't make what she did any less valid in my opinion.

She will be thrilled to know that so many (albeit anonymous) people know about it though...

"Bra burning" is (rightly or wrongly) a commonly-used expression - often in a negative way, in my experience, but again, in my experience, more often than not it's used to describe a woman opposing something which is openly sexist.

Could have referred instead to my hilarious friend who, whenever her DH makes a sexist/stupid comment in public, will hold onto the bottom of her jumper and threaten to flash her boobs to all and sundry unless he pipes down (he's v bothered about what people think - she's less so)

She's just one woman but it could catch on

Ah! So now even the myth has been misappropriated and reinterpreted by the Yoof of Today! In short, it means summink else now.....

I shall retreat into my aged shell, learn my place and not bother any of today's women!

T'is all part of the ageing process, your truths become the next generations amusements, your knowledge and experience replaced by new interpretations, devalued by a new reality.

I am certain I did the same to my mother and grandmother, just hadn't appreciated I had reached the age when t would happen to me

As a 50 year old: NO, They are not old enough for this to be a generational issue!

They have volunteered for the task, and been successful at it because they buy into the probably pre-packaged curriculum their diocese has chosen. Therefore, their supervisor, Monsignor Reallyoutofdate and Father Ineverevenwentonadate approve of them and let them carry on. But they actually suck at advising on marriage and communications for the reasons you list and probably more.

God, how awful! I am sure you expected them to invite you to critique at the end!

It was a bit of a shit ending but the point of the sketch was surely that this was poor communication by both of them. the moral of the tale being don't be an arse rather than being honest to your spouse, and if your spouse is unexpectedly being an arse there might be something more to it? So good communication is important and this couple were demonstrating a failure?

If they were holding this up as good communication then I can see your problem.

They should have continued the sketch into them discussing things properly, as equals, not just going to watch TV. I agree with you there.