Satirical restoration comedy-come-farcical romantic comedy, Michael Hurst’s adaptation of Oliver Goldsmith’s eighteenth century classic, She Stoops to Conquer (1773), brings this buoyant eighteenth century script into the mid-twentieth century, adding fresh punch along the way.

The production flyer speaks volumes, with Outrageous Fortune star Antonia Prebble holding up two ‘jugs’ of beer promiscuously. In the lead role of Kate Hardcastle, Prebble plays the courteous young daughter of a wealthy landowner. By posing as an approachable country barmaid, she stoops to conquer a suitor who is painfully shy around genteel women. Charles Marlow, the prospective husband – wonderfully characterized by Arthur Meek – is a lady’s man extraordinaire when it comes to working class women, but fails miserably with upper-class women. Thus, the play unfolds in a hotchpotch of mistaken identity and trickery.

The opening scene introduces the head of the household, Mr. Hardcastle (played unassumingly by Cameron Rhodes) and his gauche wife, Mrs. Hardcastle (played by Ellie Smith). Smith’s wonderful physicality embraces the play’s slapstick element and her purple-tinged hair coupled with her strong Northern English accent brings a touch of Coronation Street to Auckland’s Maidment Theatre. In contrast, Rhodes adds a touch of Emmerdale; particularly amongst John Verryt and Elizabeth Whiting’s wonderfully flamboyant set. Finally, their leather-clad son, Tony Lumpkin – played by Michael Whalley – brings Eastenders to the mix. And so, the play becomes ‘so English’, as the director put it, ‘that any attempt to make it [fit] New Zealand… would be unsuccessful’.

The shrubbery-filled set sees Marlow and his sidekick, George Hastings (played like the proper cricket-playing English public-schoolboy by Paul Ellis), descend through sloped stage on Vespa-style scooters, earning a round of applause and a peal of laughter. If any of the audience members had been unsure about the play’s setting, they can rest assured at this point that we are not in the 1700s.

"I’ve changed about 4% of it", the director told me during the interval, which I was a little reluctant to believe, listening to numerous references to ‘Monty’ (officer Bernard Montgomery, 1887-1976) and watching the 1950s British subculture ‘mods’ and ‘rockers’ take to the stage. Having said that, the adaptations are highly appropriate; in particular, the reference to Montgomery, whose father was an Anglo-Irish vicar, as was Goldsmith’s father. Here, Hurst is adding a nice meta-theatrical layer to the play, which is re-enforced with the countless asides, the moving statue, and the bollywood-style finale.

Auckland Theatre Company’s interpretation of this classic comedy brings the play’s theatricality confidently to the fore, in place of propriety. If a little fast-paced at times, the play keeps the audience alert and laughing throughout its duration. It runs in the Maidment Theatre until May 23rd and is well worth the outing.
_______________________________
For more production details, click on the title above. Go to Home page to see other Reviews, recent Comments and Forum postings (under Chat Back), and News. 

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer

Oliver Goldsmith’s 18th century comedy of manners is known as the perennial favourite of English regional theatre, but fully professional productions of She Stoops to Conquer are something of a rarity in Auckland.

Michael Hurst’s high-spirited modernisation has a freshness and vitality that should make the classic story of mistaken identity accessible to a younger audience. The play’s multiple layers of dissimulation – with ironical asides pitched directly at the audience – creates a distinctly post-modern texture. [More] 
_______________________________
For more production details, click on the title above. Go to Home page to see other Reviews, recent Comments and Forum postings (under Chat Back), and News. 

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer

Some jokes never get old and the Auckland Theatre Company’s production of She Stoops to Conquer gets the audience laughing as much as it must have done when it was first staged back in 1773. 

Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer is a comedy of manners, a kind of comedy that began to appear on English theatres in the 1660s.  Social issues are often illuminated by the plot and the storylines are a medley of scandals and propriety, satire and slapstick, twists and tangles, mistaken identities and misunderstandings which are neatly knitted into a satisfying ending. 

The main characters of a comedy of manners are usually members of the upper class and She Stoops to Conquer is no different.  The story centres on the Hardcastles, a wealthy English family who live in the country with their daughter, Kate, and Mrs Hardcastle’s son from a previous marriage, Tony Lumpkin; as well as Mrs Hardcastle’s niece, Miss Constance Neville.  Mr Hardcastle invites a friend’s son, Charles Marlowe, to visit as a prospective suitor for Kate. 

Marlowe brings a friend, George Hastings, who has previously met and fallen in love with Miss Neville.  On their way to the Hardcastle’s home for the first time, Marlowe and Hastings become lost.  When asking for directions they meet mischievous young Tony Lumpkin, who doesn’t identify himself, but instead sends them off to the Hardcastle house telling them that it is an inn where they might rest before continuing on their journey… And thus the chaos and comedy begins.

The cast of this play are all convincing in their roles.  The Director (Michael Hurst) and every one of the actors are critically acclaimed, award winning, highly experienced, or all of the above.  Cameron Rhodes is a thoroughly good hearted and blustering Mr Hardcastle, Ellie Smith is a larger-than-life Mrs Hardcastle, who, for some members of the audience Is clearly a highlight. 

Kate Hardcastle is played by Antonia Prebble, who captures the charming yet coy spirit of an upper class young lady (although when the upper class English lady is pretending to be lower class English girl her accent becomes a little too erratic). 

Showing their capacity for some pretty good comic delivery, Michael Whalley swaggers and shouts in his leather clad role as the young Tony Lumpkin and Arthur Meek is suitably tongue-tied and loquacious as Charles Marlowe. 

Socially adept yet secretly love-tortured George Hastings is played by Paul Ellis; Hastings spends his time trying to arrange his elopement with Miss Neville, played with sometimes over forceful flair by Esther Stevens.  Paul Barrett appears as two other characters but his performance as the servant Diggory is so hilarious that I’m still smiling.

The set (John Verryt) is lush with plants, the music is fun (Eden Mulholland) and the lighting (Jeremy Fern) is effective but not distracting.  The costumes (Elizabeth Whiting) are a little distracting, however.  The play is set in the year 1959 (instead of the 18th century), the choice of costumes fits with this time period and the variety of styles of those years were obviously fun to explore, but there is something a little confusing about so many styles on stage at once.  The choice of colours is also a little strange, particularly keeping Miss Neville in the bright yellow-gold silk dress; she very nearly outshone Miss Hardcastle in some of the later scenes.

It may be stating the obvious to remind theatre goers to suspend disbelief, but in a comedy of manners the plot and dialogue are so fast paced that the characters have to be stereotypes: We instantly understand them and can sit back and enjoy the show.  It all depends on what you want out of your theatre experience; She Stoops to Conquer is 100% pure entertainment, if you’re up for a good night out with lots of laughs, then you’ll love this one.
_______________________________
For more production details, click on the title above. Go to Home page to see other Reviews, recent Comments and Forum postings (under Chat Back), and News. 

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer