Tuesday 26 September 2017

Stratford Festival 2017 # 4: Scintillating Scandals

Of all the comedic plays written between the time of Shakespeare and the dawn of the twentieth century, Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The School for Scandal must surely be among the most durable.  As the programme for the current Stratford production laconically states, it has never been out of print and never out of production either.  Some might argue for a neck-and-neck dead heat with Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer, another fine product of the same golden age of the theatre.  I'd be willing to agree with that!

By the time Sheridan wrote Scandal, the riotous excesses of the Restoration theatre were but a memory.  Instead of the farcical, libidinous tone of, say, The Country Wife, we have instead a more restrained and genteel comedy of manners.  For all that, though, the play can certainly become very funny indeed, when it's done well.  

The biggest challenge to any staging of The School for Scandal is the fact that it's so damned well known.  I've never performed in or directed the play in my life, and yet I have whole pages of it almost completely off by heart.  I'm sure many other theatre buffs could recite it right along with me!

What, then, can anyone do to save the play from becoming a Pedestal Classic, revered and respected so much that any kind of tinkering is frowned upon with holy horror?

This production, directed by Antoni Cimolino (the Festival's Artistic Director) has engaged with the text of the play in a lightly witty and sparkling style that makes whole pages come up sounding and looking fresh and newly-minted.  It's a formidable achievement.

The entire text has been approached with an eye to finding new and different ways of nudging or emphasizing this word or that phrase.  Time and again, this company has found a unique and often surprising way to speak lines which too often seem to be cast in stone.  

The brightest light of the production in this respect was Geraint Wyn Davies in the key role of Sir Peter Teazle.  It's a rash statement to make of an actor who has distinguished himself in such a wide-ranging repertoire of roles, but I almost think Davies was born to play this part and breathe new and vivid life into it.  

The best of his interpretation is that Sir Peter now appears as much more a whole man, and much less a mere sour-tongued critic of society.  Frequently, his voice, temperament, and physicality reminded us that this "peevish old bachelor" had not forgotten his days as a dashing young rake.  Unusual, and very refreshing take on the character.

Another different and very winning take was that of Joseph Ziegler as Sir Oliver Surface.  This role can easily become just the "heavy" in the piece, but Ziegler similarly presented him as a true companion to Sir Peter -- in other words, another dashing young rake with just a few years added on. 

Among the members of the "scandalous college," pride of place goes to the maitresse of the circle, Lady Sneerwell, as played by Maev Beaty.  Beaty has formidable talents as a tragedian, frequently demonstrated to good effect at Stratford.  Here, she stakes an equal claim to comedic verve and flair, with impeccable timing of her ripostes and asides (a fair chunk of the role).  She also manages a style of movement in a giant hooped skirt and towering headdress which is itself hilarious -- not overdone or absurd, but definitely and uniquely hers.

The most conventional interpretation in this production was that of Joseph Surface as performed by Tyrone Savage.  Nothing wrong with that, as his role becomes that of the straight man whose job is to be zinged in the end by everyone else.  Savage brought a pleasantly conversational tone to the utterance of those absurdly over-wordy sentiments which comprise so much of the part.

Sébastien Heins, as his brother Charles, made a breezy and enjoyable rake.  In the famous auction scene, he managed for once to keep his character a little in hand and let his dissolute friends provide the over-the-top comic contrast.  It worked well, because it made his sudden affection for the portrait of his uncle much more believable -- important support for a key plot point which often seems to be stuck-on and improbable.

Shannon Taylor played a brightly engaging Lady Teazle, with the added benefit of her light-toned voice making her sound just like an indulgent parent with a difficult child in her arguments with Sir Peter.  Her change in tone after the screen was thrown down was excellent too, much more forceful and positive in presenting her feelings than one sometimes sees and hears.

The other scandal mongers added to the fun in various ways.  Anusree Roy made much of the small but important role of Snake (Mrs. Snake for this production).  Crabtree was played with an acid-drop tongue and matching face by Rod Beattie, while Tom Rooney performed Sir Benjamin Backbite with the customary degree of effete, effeminate zeal.  The "duet" as I think of it, in which these two tell the story of the duel between Sir Peter and Joseph, was played with great verve and pinpoint precision in the timing of the cut-offs and pay-offs.  A delightful sequence.

The honest Rowley, who helps to facilitate the happy ending, was given a perennially worried but genial face and similarly anxious voice by Brent Carver.

The one weak link in the cast was Brigit Wilson as Mrs. Candour.  Especially when seen against the relatively restrained work of the rest of the cast, her performance was simply overripe and overdone.  Plenty of good ideas and thoughts behind it, but all pushed much too far.

As befits a play of this period, and the use of the Avon Theatre with its proscenium stage, Julie Fox designed a handsome full-wall set which proved unexpectedly flexible in the ability of different segments to open and close in different directions.  Although no revolve was in use, the scene changes were accomplished as quickly and painlessly as if there had been a revolve -- no mean accomplishment considering the scale of the set.  Costumes were similarly striking, in sometimes unexpected colours that yet worked well with each other and with the set.

Although Stratford has staged The School for Scandal a number of times in the past, this production worthily takes its place among the best of its predecessors, and among Stratford's finest achievements in the classic English theatre after the time of Shakespeare.

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