A Short Review: The Rivals

Last night I attended "The Rivals," directed by Peter Hall, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

The show was amazing. First off, it was written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan in the 18th Century. It is high comedy, and the writing is really quite clever. Having seen a production directed by Hall before, I've realized his manner of comedy is letting the words do the work. There are no hams in the productions I've seen, and Hall never goes for the obvious laugh; the audience chuckles only when they can decipher the joke for themselves. Like Danny Scheie always said "Comedy makes you think."

While again, I won't get too deep into the plot, I will say that it is a comedy along the lines of Shakespeare. Secret identities, love "triangles," clever asides that let the audience in on the joke. Mrs. Malaprop is one of those iconic characters; no matter what she does or how silly she is, you end up feeling for her.

The scenic design, by Simon Higlett, was both luxurious and simple. It was a unit set, with furniture, sound cues, and lighting (Jason Taylor) to differentiate between outdoors and indoors. The set itself worked well for both--the top was a forced perspective piece that echoed the Royal Crescent of Bath (where the play takes place). The placement of doors makes the set a little more abstract, but it is a very clever design that works.

The costumes, by Christopher Woods, were divine--the color palette told a lot of the story and pairings. The brighter colors belonged to the clowns, and the pastels belonged to the leads and ingenues. The only thing that bothered me were the hats--they looked as if they could be bought at a halloween superstore. Surprisingly, for this production there was a separate costume and scenic designer.

This production was originally produced in 1775 at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden--just a short walk from where I saw it. Fun fact of the day. I am very glad I saw the production--the next is "A Flea in Her Ear" at the Old Vic." I think after that, I'll be ready for something a bit edgier--I'm going to research fringe theatre here for the next few weeks.

Besides that...some exciting news! Most of the fun things that happen to me in London are things I just stumble on to--it's really all about being in the right place at the right time. Today I went to Liberty to do a little Christmas shopping, and I got something pretty cool....

Looks like I have my plans set for tomorrow night!