|
|
 |
| |
Steph Poetschke as Marcia |
Potshots at a pompous elite
THE MISANTHROPE
BridewellTheatre
THEY are a ghastly bunch, more terrifying than all the ghouls of Halloween: a slimy publicist, a smarmy celeb, a snobbish academic, a back-stabbing actress, a muck-raking hack and a self-righteous writer.
It’s impossible to think of a likeable character in this story, which has been transplanted from its original setting – the 17th century France of its author, Molière – to modern day London in this version by Martin Crimp.
There is even a theatre critic in this gallery of grotesques.
A literary failure, he can but snipe from the sidelines.
At the centre of this unappealing clique stands Alceste, a misanthropic playwright who has the unfortunate habit of telling people what he really thinks of them (in rhyme, as is the style in this play) as part of some Quixotic quest for Truth.
But he is informed by his friend, John: “If it’s the truth you’re after, the truth is that ranting moralists are met with ridicule and laughter.”
And so it proves to be.
This frequently witty tale was Molière’s sideswipe at the elite of his day, Louis XIV and his decadent claque.
Its relevance to today’s London is clear – as indicated by the copies of the day’s Standard, used as props in the second act. Nothing changes, the implication is; it’s still fun to laugh at the elite, and there is always a surfeit of nauseating “media personalities” on the Londoner’s Diary page.
The actors here are non-professionals and members of the Tower Theatre Company, which makes good amateur productions, accessible to all and rooted in the community. The larger-than-life personas in this play allow the cast to really go to town, with particularly praiseworthy performances given by Gately Freeman as the spiteful theatre critic Covington and Emma Spence as actress Jennifer.
Until October 31
020 7353 1700 |
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
