|
Charley’s Aunt
Worcester Repertory Company
The Commandery, Worcester
*****
Charley’s Aunt comes from Brazil where
the nuts come from! This ‘old chestnut’ is a wordy farce by Brandon
Thomas which receives a fresh injection and energy from the Worcester
Repertory Company at The Commandery Gardens over the coming fortnight.
Jack Chesney and Charley Wykeham, played by Jamie
Kwasnik, students at Oxford, are in love with Kitty Verdun (Victoria
Lucie) and Amy Spettigue (Alison Hellings) respectively.
When the arrival of Charley’s aunt is delayed,
they enlist the help of their friend, Lord Fancourt Babberley to
impersonate the lady (whom none of them has met) to acts as a chaperone
in an age when it would have been frowned upon for the young lovers to
meet alone. However the real aunt, played by Liz Grand, turns up earlier
than they imagined, creating huge complications for the young students,
and multiple ironies ensue.
After all the embarrassing and hilarious
complications of the plot, the outcome is romantically satisfying for
all except the ludicrous Stephen Spettigue, played by Jonathan Darby.
The style of this production has elements of
farce and pantomime as the company play fast and loose with the original
text in order to maximise the laughs. The ‘fourth wall’ is fully
removed, the bawdy jokes at times are overplayed, but in general it is a
bundle of fun and the cast have a real energy and transmit a great sense
of enjoyment.
The absence of set, and almost complete absence
of props, mean that the play is focussed on the actors delivering their
lines and magnifying their characters in their sumptuous costumes. There
is no amplification but the cast do very well in projecting the lines
clearly and effectively.
The standout performers were Stratford-based John
Robert Partridge as Lord Fancourt Babberley and the Rep’s associate
director Ben Humphrey as Jack Chesney, though the team was generally
strong. The young ladies are charming and beautiful, the old men are
suitably grim. The pace was mostly excellent and the timing of the lines
was crisp, which is vital to the humour of the play.
Some of the elements thrown in to refresh the
play and give it a local flavour were very creative and enriching. The
concluding dance and especially the witty song at the start of Act Two
were very entertaining.
The occasion is greatly helped by good weather
and the opportunity to sit around and enjoy a glass of wine and some
nibbles on a pleasant summer evening in one of Worcester’s most
delightful and historic surroundings. These give the occasion great
charm. The asides to the audience drew us into the fun and by the end
everybody was joining in with the refrain – ‘where the nuts come from’!
Directed by the Rep’s artistic Director Chris Jaeger, it runs to
23-07-17.
Tim Crow
12-07-17
|
