Take a spoonful of Molière, a little Vivienne Westwood, add some of Feydeau’s exaggerated comic genius, stir well, set it in Yorkshire and you’ll have Northern Broadside’s production of Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer.
The play, written in 1773, in which social prejudice and misconceptions collide is perfect for Northern Broadside’s Opéra Bouffe treatment. Molière himself would have applauded enthusiastically, had he been in the audience tonight. And he certainly had followers from thereon – Goldsmith and Georges Feydeau, creator of A Flea in Her Ear, to name but a few.
From the moment the characters enter, the self-obsessed, dissolute Tony Lumpkin and his mother, the broad Mrs Hardcastle with a orange candy floss wig wobbling across the stage, both in voluminous leopard and tiger print costumes, we know that mayhem will be served up.
Mr Hardcastle’s ancestral country abode, the rather shabby and behind the times Liberty Hall, sees the arrival of the young Marlow, the son of a well to-do friend, whom old Hardcastle hopes to see married to his daughter Kate, touchingly played by Hannah Edwards. Marlow is accompanied by his friend Hastings who has secret designs on Kate’s feisty cousin Constance. Throughout the play, Lumpkin, Mrs Hardcastle’s carousing son, spins his intrigues and thus ensures that the play hurtles from one confusion to another.
Young Marlow mistakes old Hardcastle for an innkeeper, his daughter Kate (and prospective bride) for a serving wench. Luckily, Marlow has a problem – though he can charm common barmaids and less reputable women who will oblige for a couple of coins, he is utterly tongue-tied when it comes to a woman of standing and vertue.
Of course, old Hardcastle’s indignation in the face of the two young men’s impertinence knows no bounds, but his sassy daughter Kate is made of sterner stuff – she passes herself off as a serving wench in order to capture the heart of young Marlow and inevitably, delicious chaos ensues.
Northern Broadside can always be relied on to bring energetic fun and hilarity to the stage, not only with its multi-talented musician actors, but also with a fresh look at everything they chose to do. Here the action is transplanted to Yorkshire, giving plenty of opportunity to exploit northern stereotypes.
Director Conrad Nelson has created a good deal of hilarity with the portrayal of the hapless servants versus the snobbish Londoners. Gilly Thompson, playing her part full throttle as the grasping, socially ambitious but sadly misguided Mrs Hardcastle is the strongest performance here. With an overload of her ginger wig she emerges at one point looking like a demented medusa.
For my taste, at times it felt a little static – there was plenty of opportunity for a little more frantic action in the well designed rural set. There could, and perhaps should have been a great deal more running in and out of doors in true farce style and a little less standing and delivering lines at the audience. Jon Trenchard, as Lumpkin, delivers as always in his unique over-the top style, Lauryn Redding in the role of Constance , Kate’s cousin, was less convincing as a well-bred 18th century young lady. But all in all, an evening of absurd fun. ★★★☆☆ Astrid Burchardt 08/10/14
