24 September 2015
THE BEAUX’ STRATAGEM (George Farquhar)
Olivier Theatre, National Theatre, London SE1
reviewed by Neil Tidmarsh
George Farquhar wrote his masterpiece “The Beaux’ Stratagem” over three centuries ago. Would we in the twenty-first century be able to cheer on a pair of aristocratic ne’er-do-wells as they ruthlessly hunt for rich wives? Would a modern audience be able to find an unhappy marriage funny?
Simon Godwin’s sparkling and hilarious production proves the answer to be “yes!” He reminds us that this is a sharp but essentially kind-hearted and good-natured play. Farquhar was writing at the beginning of the eighteenth century as the harshness of the Restoration Comedy’s satire and sexual politics was beginning to drain out of English drama, but before the late eighteenth-century’s sentimentality had crept into it.
The cast are unanimously expert at communicating the sympathy and comedy of Farquhar’s characters. Susannah Fielding is particularly moving and amusing as Mrs Sullen. Pippa Bennett-Warner as Dorinda holds the stage well with her. Samuel Barnett and Geoffrey Streatfeild as Aimwell and Archer win us over as the leading rakes. And Pearce Quigley as Scrub makes comedy look easy, provoking gales of laughter with his dead-pan but perfectly-judged delivery.
There’s music, too – singing and dancing which do much to set the tone of the comedy and the drama. The set cleverly doubles as the play’s two different settings – an inn and a country house. But it does more than that. The play’s dialogue is packed with wit, but the piece’s laughs are as much in the action of the story as in the words of its characters; and the set’s doors, staircases and landings provide a great platform for the play’s physical comedy.
It’s hard to believe that this feast of sharp wit and warm humanity was written by a dying man (Farquhar died in poverty at the age of thirty, probably of TB, living just long enough to witness the play’s success) who moreover had experienced the bitterness of the Siege of Londonderry and the Battle of the Boyne in his formative years. At least it’s no surprise to learn that he was Irish – born in Londonderry, the son of a Protestant clergyman, and educated at Trinity College, Dublin. What is it in the air and water over there? His contemporary playwright, William Congreve, though born in Leeds, was brought up in Kilkenny and also educated at Trinity College. And after them came the flood of Goldsmith, Sheridan, Wilde, Synge, O’Casey, Shaw, Yeats, Beckett…
Last week your critic managed to catch a play right at the beginning of its run but, alas, couldn’t recommend it very highly; this week he reviews a play which he recommends very highly but which, alas, is at the very end of its run. Many apologies, but bear with him, please, it’s early days yet and he’ll get the hang of his business sooner or later. Nevertheless, this play is the kind of production which the National does and indeed should take on tour (coincidentally, this and Farquhar’s other masterpiece, “The Recruiting Officer”, were noted as exceptional at the time for being set outside London, in Lichfield and Shrewsbury respectively). So keep an eye out for it, wherever you are. It would be nice to think that this review might serve its purpose after all.
