She Stoops to Conquer | Smock Alley Players

Star Rating: 3/5

She Stoops to Conquer | Smock Alley Players

Written by Oliver Goldsmith | Director: Kristian Marken

Cast: John Burke, Muiris Crowley, Emily Elphinstone, Roger Gregg, Paul Hogan, Genevieve Hulme Beamen, Kate Kennedy, Norette Leahy, Simon Stewart.

There couldn't have been a better choice of play for Smock Alley Players' debut production in the recently renovated theatre than She Stoops to Conquer. Irish playwright Oliver Goldsmith's comical farce was first performed in the original Smock Alley Theatre, the walls of which were used in the building of the theatre that stands on the spot today.

While Smock Alley Players' version of the 1773 play is largely faithful to the original, director Kristian Marken takes a few liberties with the script, adding 20th Century songs and a line here and there to enhance the comic appeal for the contemporary audience. The overall aesthetic is also transported from the 18th century to a less distant age – one would guess at the 1970s from the psychedelic mismatch of flares, headscarves, jumpsuits and flower power shirts. Decked out in Technicolor costumes and irritatingly incongruous restoration style make-up the cast embark on the telling of this bawdy uproarious tale of love and trickery. The action takes place in the stately manor of the wealthy Mr Hardcastle (Neil Hogan) who, in the opening scene, declares that he has set the wheels in motion for a courtship between his daughter Kate and the son of his Londoner friend Mr Marlow. The family, prone to dramatics from the off, are braced for the arrival of Kate's suitor, only for him to be intercepted on his way to the house by the mischievous and high maintenance Tony Lumpkin, Mr Hardcastle's stepson. Deciding to play a practical joke on the unsuspecting Marlow and his companion, Lumpkin directs them to the Hardcastle estate, telling them that it is merely an inn they can rest in on their journey to meet the Hardcastles, and encouraging them to treat the "staff" they come across accordingly.

And so a string of misunderstandings ensues that add up to a production which is fairly well realised if not a little drawn out. The cast vary in strength with Genevieve Hulme Beamen outshining most in the role of Kate Hardcastle. Hulme Beamen handles the quips and physical comedy (choreographed nicely by Marken) with aplomb and in doing so strikes the perfect balance of truth and exaggeration that is necessary for farce - a challenge not quite met by some of her fellow cast members. While the full on assault of colour, comedy and slapstick outstays its welcome by about twenty minutes, when it does have you engaged She Stoops to Conquer is an inoffensive, high energy and fun production which hopefully is the beginning of bright and beautiful work for The Smock Alley Players in this fabulous new venue.

Story by EI Team | 09:00 | Monday 21st May 2012 | Theatre

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