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Stars explained: * A production of no real merit
with failings in all areas. ** A production showing evidence of not
enough time or effort, or even talent, and which never breathes any real
life into the piece – or a show lumbered with a terrible script. *** A
good enjoyable show which might have some small flaws but has largely
achieved what it set out to do.**** An excellent show which shows a
great deal of work and stage craft with no noticeable or major
flaws.***** A four star show which has found that extra bit of magic
which lifts theatre to another plane. |
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Nothing lost in Translation
The Servant of Two Masters Highbury Theatre Centre ***** The Highbury players end their current
main season with a whirlwind, exuberant performance of The Servant of
Two masters. The play, written in 1747 by Venetian playwright
Carlo Goldino, has been transcribed many times into a variety of forms
but Highbury are possibly unique as a company as this version was
translated by their founder John English way back in 1948. The play is written in the style of Commedia
dell'arte, originally a form of masked improvisation. If you are not
familiar with that then as a reference elements of it were adapted by
the writers of TV series like` Up Pompeii ‘or ` Allo Allo.
It is where there seems to be a casual interplay and asides from players
who reflect on the plot seemingly outside of the script. Indeed there were quite few similarities to `
Allo Allo' in this excellent performance as the Italian accents
occasionally wandered across the border into France. The choice of
modern dress also helped that impression with leather coats, fishnet
stockings and Trilby hats. (Although not all on the same actor I should
stress) It's worth beginning with the excellent direction
by Ian Appleby and Nigel Higgs as organising the flow of chaos and plot
detail into a manageable stream is key to its success. A
simple open stage with a series of colonnaded entrances provided the
wide open space to contain the action. It's actually a pretty complex plot to paraphrase
but the central theme features Truffaldino who, to make some extra money
and the prospect of a double lunch, takes on the role of servant to two
different masters. This pivotal role is managed by Keith Hayes whose
feisty and confident performance seems to lift the entire cast into the
exaggerated delivery and scenarios that this piece requires. Kerry Frater was notable as the Inn keeper
Bighella. The Welsh Mr Frater was the only one who seemed able to
marginally open the door to what appeared to be improvisation with a
verbal nod to Richard Burton and his Welsh roots. It would have been
nice to see a little more of this risk taking throughout in the true
sense of Commedia dell'arte. Normally a fault of many amateur groups is vocal
volume but I think those living across the road from the Highbury
Theatre could have heard the manic shrieks and cries of Bhupinder Dhamu
as the estranged daughter Clarice and the desperate commands of
Mark Nattrass as the love struck Florindo. It's actually quite a long play and at one point,
close to what seemed like it should have been an interval, the stage was
plunged into darkness and a soundtrack was played. Unfortunately this
seemed like a cue for most of the audience to get up and head
prematurely for the bar only to all shuffle awkwardly back to their
seats as the lights came up and the play continued. It was all
very Commedia dell'arte indeed. During the real interval, the Highbury team
placed questionnaires on the seats for the audience to respond to as
they as a theatrical group have seen audience numbers fall over the last
couple of years. Personally I don't think that's down to any lack of
quality as `The Servant of Two Masters' here proves again, that the word
amateur sometimes remains an ill-fitting description for this and
some other very pro performances. Jeff Grant |
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