London Assurance - Richmond Theatre (Review)
Review by David Munro
LONDON Assurance was written by a young Dion Boucicault in the 1840’s even though it harks back to an earlier age. It is, in effect, a pastiche Sheridan comedy although it had a strange effect on subsequent playwrights and, in particular, Oscar Wilde who was allegedly influenced by it when writing The Importance of Being Earnest.
Sir Harcourt Courtly (Gerald Murphy), a middle aged and somewhat overblown dandy, refuses to accept that he has a grown up son, Charles (Laurence Mitchell), who is in effect a dissolute young man who sneaks out at night to go gambling when his father assumes he is in bed.
Sir Harcourt has set his sights on a country girl, Grace (Clare Corbett), who is also an heiress, as his second wife and sets off to the country to woo her. Charles, his son, secretly follows, under an assumed name, in order to evade his creditors, at the suggestion of Dazzle (Ken Bradshaw), an enigmatic character who insinuates himself into the proceedings after having brought Charles home from a night out and who turns out to be the deus ex machina for the resolution of the play.
It is perhaps interesting to note that this was the part considered originally as the most important in the play and was the one selected by the actor-managers originating and reviving the piece.
In the country, Charles meets Grace who falls in love with him; his father becomes involved with a venal lawyer, Meddle (Nigel Hastings), and the gloriously hearty larger-than-life Lady Gay Spanker (Geraldine McNulty), who flirts with him while sparring with her diminutive husband, ‘Dolly’ (Christopher Ryan).
After a series of misunderstandings and farcical occurrences, things sort themselves out – Charles gets Grace and everybody is happy.
Also involved in the proceedings are Alan McMahon as an urbane valet Cool and Mike Burnside as Grace’s genial father Harkaway.
This is a highly mannered and stylised piece of theatre and I was left wondering why it was revived. Whilst not denigrating the hard working and proficient cast it is clearly a play which requires comedians of the first water (one remembers the production with Donald Sinden and Elizabeth Firth) to pull it off.
Last night was, whilst amusing in parts, too long and suffered badly from interminable patches of artificial dialogue and little action – a fault which might justly be laid at the door of the director, Nikolai Foster.
The title (and the plot) implies that if one has the poise and assurance of a well bred Londoner, one can achieve anything, including bemusing and befuddling dim-witted country folk.
Well, this assurance is sadly lacking in this production and if the country folk of Richmond are bemused and befuddled, it’s not in the way the author intended but merely the bewilderment of finding a play like this being performed at their local theatre. This is a piece of theatrical history which should have been allowed to rest in peace rather than being exhumed for public ridicule.
London Assurance by Dion Boucicault.
Director: Nikolai Foster.
Designer: Philip Witcomb.
Lighting: Guy Hoare.
Music: Grant Olding.
CAST: Alan McMahon; Robert Calvert; Laurence Mitchell; Ken Bradshaw; Gerard Murphy; Mike Burnside; Vivien Reid; Clare Corbett; Nigel Hastings; Geraldine McNulty.
Presented by The Watermill Theatre.
Richmond Theatre, The Green, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 IQJ.
Tues, June 10 – Sat, June 14, 2008.
Evenings: 7.45pm/Matinees Wed. & Sat: 2.30pm
Box Office: 0870 060 6651.