An entertaining and engaging production of Brandon Thomas’ classic farce set in the late nineteenth century environs of Oxford. Sophie Drake’s sharp and pacey direction brings the hilarity out, delivering laughs and gurgles from heaven knows where. It keeps the story very alive and the near-two hour running time slides by only too quickly. In summary it’s a journey from where ‘money talks….’ to where ‘love and relationships shout’. A classic route for a successful and very popular farce and this production doesn’t in any way disappoint.
Whilst the original was created as a vehicle for exploring the role (and presence) of women in the pre-twentieth century, Rob Madge’s new adaptation explores contemporary themes of gender identity and self-expression against the background of stereotypical conformity. Whilst bringing out the over-riding importance of what really matters – love and relationships, irrespective of who the individuals are, or how they are perceived. And doing so in a manner and style that allows the direction of Sophie Drake to let the comedy and hilarity of this Charley’s Aunt reach out to the audience and bring the uproariousness and laughter to the fore. It’s not deep, but Rob Madge asks the questions and creates the scenarios with a touch of lightness that slides this classic century and a half old play into twenty-first century societal norms.
Central to the plot is Babbs. Or the assumed ‘Charley’s Aunt’, Donna Lucia d’Alvadorez, a rich widow from Brazil. Babbs started as the butler of Charley’s love interest, Kitty’s uncle and guardian Stephen Spettigue but ventured through the position of Spettigue’s focus of affection when believed to be Donna Lucia. Yes, all the components necessary for a rip-roaring farce, but one with a contemporary edge.
Max Gill bought Babbs vividly to life, and kept all flowing around the character(s) they adopted. Two young men, Charley and Jack (played respectively by Jonathan Case and Benjamin Westerby), still living in rooms in Oxford were – initially for their own and non-romantic reasons – infatuated with Kitty and Amy (played respectively by Yasemin Özdemir and Mae Munuo) – ward and niece of Spettigue, and to progress their love and relationship needed Spettigue’s signed agreement to wed. The cast bought these complex and wonderfully contrived relationships to the classic ‘farcical’ hilarious dilemmas that audiences demand. And this production didn’t fail.
A thoroughly enjoyable re-working of one of the classic farces, but injected with contemporary issues that don’t pervade, whilst bringing a piece of theatre from yesteryear into the current day. All in the glorious setting of Newbury’s Watermill Theatre, probably Marlborough’s nearest venue for serious, challenging and entertaining theatre. Almost in the West End, or would be in terms of productions, but more precisely the West End of Newbury.
Willow & Wolf new paint job: Definitely ‘Marmite’ in taste
