| Robust and highly invigorating |
At Mappa Mundi |
| Mappa Mundi- She Stoops to Conquer , Sherman Cymru Cardiff , May 8, 2009 |
The marriage between Milford Haven’s Torch Theatre’s Artistic Director Peter Doran and Mappa Mundi Theatre has now overcome all the tantalising distractions that teased the courtship and a wonderfully happy paring it has produced; a robust and highly invigorating presentation of this classic yet bang up to date comedy. The appetite for such productions was confirmed by the two near sell-out performances in Cardiff which I am sure will be repeated as this entertaining production continues on its tour through Wales and on into England.The vitality of Oliver Goldsmith’s writing is a key to the success and longevity of the piece. Written and set in the eighteenth century, the cast pitch the dialogue well, emphasising the class differences between the country bumpkins, (though they do sound a bit like refugees from Coronation Street) and the bourgeoisie. Liam Tobin’s Mr Hardcastle is led a merry dance by his stepson and he gives a warm hearted and amusing performance in the guise of a North Country comedian. The act is completed by two other equally bright and comic performances by the servants of the house, a Milliganesque, laughter provoking Russell Gomer and a not so dotty maid by Clêr Stevens The wondrous and extraordinary-looking Kathryn Dimery as Mrs Hardcastle cavorts with extraordinary agility and has the audience rocking with laughter at her comic outrage. Her crafty step-son Tony Lumpkin is given a wicked and swaggering performance by Edward Harrison drawing the audience into his confidence, leaving them not knowing whether to love or hate him. The two young gentlemen, drawn down from town to find love in the countryside have a very firm gait and are elegantly costumed. The costume design of Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones and the precision and sparkle in the eye of Director Doran very much define this production. Richard Nichols as Hastings gives us a very well observed gentleman of his times, he has an elegant way with his dialogue and with his paramour Constance Neville, another lively performance from Lyn Seymour, ducks and dives and raises the tension and conspires with Lumpkin to get to spend the rest of their life together. Pantomiming and captivating his audience Keiron Self as Marlowe seems more at home as the seducing lothario than the stuttering petitioner. He too establishes a great relationship with his audience, though I don’t think the expression “as pissed as a fart” was current in Goldsmith’s time. This is a phrase he uses to describe a member of the audience sitting in the front row who has been plied with glasses of an unsavoury looking punch as the play progressed. Marlowe has good reason to be bashful in the presence of his sweetheart. Mali Tudor Jones gives a divine performance as Kate Hardcastle. She perfectly captures the spirit of the age and of the play. I last saw Mappa Mundi giving a small scale, somewhat self- conscious, production of Shakespeare’s Richard III with a minimum set in the Sherman Theatre venue 2. It is great to see how much they have progressed, now with a large and excellent set by Sean Crowley and established as the Wales based company regularly presenting robust revivals of theatre classics. They certainly know how to entertain an audience but Mappa Mudi needs to remove the slight air of self satisfaction that still tends to undermine the overall quality of their work and they need to dig deeper to find the core of real theatre art. Great fun this production certainly is but it is more a pastiche than a fully informed presentation of 18th Century Theatre, (in the present age) if that was indeed what they set out to do. For touring details check out www.mappa-mundi.org.uk |
Reviewed by: Michael Kelligan |
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