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Sex and a ciggy: John Hopkins (Penitent Brothel) and Ellie Beaven (Mrs Littledick). Pictures: Manuel Harlan A Mad World, My Masters Royal Shakespeare Company Swan Theatre, Stratford **** THOMAS
Middleton’s comedy about the manners and morals of early Jacobean
society has been seen by some as the RSC’s response to the success of
the National Theatre’s One Man Two Guvnors and such is the quality of
this production that a run in the West End seems highly possible. The play describes the
lurid activities of London’s social scene in the early years of the 17th
Century. Middleton himself experienced a traumatic childhood as his
greedy stepfather spent twenty years trying to get hold of the family
fortune, with only the lawyers getting rich. This upbringing is
reflected in his sharp satire on the social attitudes of the time.
Director Sean Foley has trimmed the play’s length
by a fifth, shaving off many of the references to Jacobean life which
would mean little to modern audiences, but has introduced some new
material, although the reference to an angry young man being seen at the
Royal Court seemed to escape the audience despite being deliberately
flagged. Appropriately set in the sleazy Soho of the 1950s
where corruption and sexual laxity were endemic - remember the Profumo
scandal and the tragedy of Ruth Ellis - the play has some brilliantly
sung jazz vocals by Linda John Pierre to create just the right
atmosphere to underscore the action.
The plot has two themes. The first has Dick
Follywit - the names are often a clue as to the character - arriving in
London determined to lay his hands on the fortune of his uncle, Sir
Bounteous Peersucker. He pretends to be a noble gentleman, to take
advantage of his uncle’s generosity as a host, as well as a call girl
(to see off the threat posed by his uncle’s mistress) and then a
strolling player to take even more of his uncle’s wealth. Richard
Goulding manages all this with great aplomb, while his uncle, played by
Ian Redford, proves the old adage that there’s no fool like an old fool.
The other thread has Mrs Littledick (Don’t ask)
trying to escape her jealous husband’s clutches to have an adulterous
affair with Penitent Brothel. She is helped by Truly Kidman, who is a
prostitute disguised as a nun and supposed to be giving Mrs Littledick
some moral and spiritual guidance. The affair is noisily
consummated behind the curtains of a four-poster bed, overheard by the
eavesdropping Mr Littledick (Steffan Rhodri) who believes that his wife
is being taught about moral probity. John Hopkins makes a suitably
tormented Puritan, Sarah Ridgeway is convincing both as prostitute and
nun in the role of Truly Kidman and Ellie Beaven exudes sex-appeal as
the libidinous Mrs Littledick. The sets and stage business are wonderfully
detailed: for example, the statue of Michelangelo’s David in
Peersucker’s house has an appendage which when toggled opens the door to
his strong-room. An apparent malfunction leads to the appendage being
toggled repeatedly, much to the audience’s amusement. Not that the audience was totally amused: my next
door neighbours sat po-faced throughout the first act and failed to
return after the interval. Without doubt this is one of the funniest
productions the RSC has put on in some time, but I suspect its
rollicking humour and bawdy frolics may not appeal to everyone. To
25-10-13. Jerald Smith (15-07-13)
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