At Fluellen Theatre |
| Fluellen Theatre Company- Lysistrata , Arts Studio, Grand Theatre, Swansea , February 10, 2011 |
Having seen some poor productions of Greek comedy in the past, I was a little reticent about paying good money to see another. But my love of all things Greek won in the end and so I splashed the cash at the Grand Theatre Studio in Swansea to see Fluellen Theatre Company’s new translation of Aristophanes` Lysistrata.An hour and a half later I walked back out into the damp and depressing February drizzle with a broad grin and a warm glow. For this production of Lysistrata was not only the most enjoyable piece of theatre I have seen for some time it was also, hands down, the best production of Lysistrata I have ever seen. Updated to something that resembled the present day, Peter Richards` production of Francis Hardy`s translation crackled with wit and, whilst staying remarkably faithful to the Aristophanes original, added some well-judged gags at present day foibles. (at one stage the senior Athenian politician was admonished for spending public funds on his duck pond!). The plot about a group of women going on a sex-strike until their menfolk stop fighting wars was very well handled staying the right side of crudity whilst keeping the double-entendres flowing at record speed. Lauralee Nicole was outstanding in the title role. She galvanised her female colleagues as well as the audience into a sincere belief for change. Here was one male in the audience who cheered her to the echo. Nia Trussler Jones and Charlotte Rogers were excellent as two of her initially doubting followers and there was a great turn from Katherine Weare as Lampito, the Amazon, here cleverly and hilariously transformed into a terrifying punk with enough face metal to rebuild the Titanic. The chorus of Old Men was transformed into beautifully realised Dads Army types (actually rechristened George and Godfrey). David Dooley and Dudley Owen were terrific, and the latter’s hapless pantomime with a crowbar was hilarious. The Chorus of Old Women was equally well realised. Claire Novelli and Patricia Morgan portrayed them as two hideous cleaning ladies who wielded their mops like weapons of mass destruction. There was hardly a letup in the frenetic action, slapstick and verbal comedy throughout the performance. At times things became almost pantomimic, with an eminently hissable villain in the Magistrate (very well played by Christopher Hale) and even an “Oh no you won’t!” “Oh yes we will” stand-off between the Choruses. In a production where there were so many sexual puns, to say that the production had a great climax is, perhaps, very appropriate. And it really did have a great climax in which the entire company gave us a terrific and very funny version of “My Way”. The perfect ending to a superb production, and one that restored my faith in the ability of Brits to stage Greek comedy well. |
Reviewed by: John P. Lewis |
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