Description:

Pam Mc went to see  She Stoops to Conquer at Nottingham Playhouse

The imaginative and playful two dimensional set featuring giant sheep, dogs and a pig almost stole the show as they were manoeuvred across the stage to highlight the larger than life comedy moments in She Stoops to Conquer.

The play centres on Hardcastle Hall deep in the countryside (hence the rolling green fields of the backdrop, with sheep, dogs and a pig on the stage). This play is a comedy of errors. Mr Hardcastle (Mike Burnside) has remarried and the new Mrs Hardcastle (Joan Moon) who has a useless son, Tony Lumpkin (Chris Nayak) who likes nothing better than to play pranks and drink in the local tavern. However, Mr Hardcastle’s beautiful daughter, Kate (Ellie Beaven) brings him much joy. It is her happiness that concerns him now as he informs Kate that the man he has chosen to be her husband, Charles Marlow the son of a close friend, is on his way to their home from London. After detailing how handsome, rich and career driven her future husband is he adds:

“And, to crown all, Kate, he's one of the most bashful and reserved young fellows in all the world.”

Kate, who had up until this point declared that ‘she’ll have him’ replies:

‘Eh! You have frozen me to death again. That word reserved has undone all the rest of his accomplishments. A reserved lover, it is said, always makes a suspicious husband.”

Fortunately for Kate (and the audience), her potential husband is the least suspicious man in the world, as he is misled time and time again due to the greater need of others who manipulate events to suit their own ends.

Kate has heard rumours that her potential suitor is not quite so ‘bashful’ when in the company of a barmaid and resolves to put her father’s insistence on changing out of her London ‘frippery’ and into a simple housewife’s dress in the afternoons to good use! Meanwhile, Tony tries to avoid his mother’s matchmaking attempts to marry him off to his cousin, Constance Neville (the vibrant and hilarious Rina Mahoney, whose versatility is thoroughly explored in this production), who has her heart set on quite another man (much to Tony’s relief).

Joan Moon is wonderful as Mrs Hardcastle, a woman who has remarried above her station. Her expressive face reveals how her character is really feeling to great comical effect, as she swiftly switches from delight to the frustrated rage of a mother whose child refuses to bend to her will.

Chris Nayak plays Tony almost as a pantomime character, this worked for me as he’s the mischievous joker of the piece. He throws tantrums, winds his mother up frequently, and creeps away like a pantomime villain when he realises he’s about to be sussed.

Ellie Beaven has one of the most difficult roles in the production, as she convincingly plays another character within her original character via different dress, accents and mannerisms; the modest lady like Kate that terrifies Charles, and the flirty maid in a housewife’s dress that he can’t stop making overtures to.

Other hilarious highlights included members of the cast who, when not on stage in a speaking role, created the sound effects on the sidelines in full sight of the audience, the asides made directly to the audience, and the moment that the fathers of the potential bride and groom, Kate and Charles, rolled out on the stage ‘hidden’ from view behind a screen.

While this play by Oliver Goldsmith may be over 200 years old there’s still plenty of relevance in it to engage the audience of today as it explores the North/South divide, Mrs Hardcastle’s obsession with gossip in London which reflects the present obsession with celebrity culture, and the objectification of women through Charles’ attitude to Kate. She Stoops to Conquer is an imaginative, humorous and often thought provoking production.

Director Lucy Pitman-Wallace

Showing at Nottingham Playhouse Thursday 8 – 18 September 2010

Tickets £7.50 - £26.50

To book telephone the box office on 0115 941 9419

Or online at www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk