The Servant of Two Masters
REVIEW by Tom King
Southend Shakespeare Company
8th July - Spellbrook Primary School, Nr Bishops Stortford
9th July - Southchurch Hall, Southend on Sea
12th to 15th July at 7.45pm at Leigh Library Gardens
REVIEW by Tom King
Southend Shakespeare Company
8th July - Spellbrook Primary School, Nr Bishops Stortford
9th July - Southchurch Hall, Southend on Sea
12th to 15th July at 7.45pm at Leigh Library Gardens
HIGH summer has arrived and Shakespeare Company once again took the concept of high literally. This year's outdoor production, The Servant of Two Masters, kicked off locally at the top of Rayleigh Mount. It meant that audiences had to lug chairs, picnics, lapdogs and other baggage to the top of the hill.
No sweat. It would be worth climbing Snowdonia to catch this production.
The Servant of Two Masters is one of the sunniest comedies in the classic repertoire. As proof, check out the huge success of the modernised version, One Man Two Guvnors, starring James Corden.
The 300-old play, set in Venice, stays fresh thanks to its cast-iron comic plot: dodgy servant juggles two jobs, not realising that one of his “masters” is a woman in disguise, while the other is her lover, desperately in search of her.
The comic possibilities are delicious, and deftly milked by the master playwright Carlo Goldoni, who at his best deserves mention in the same breath as Shakespeare.
No sweat. It would be worth climbing Snowdonia to catch this production.
The Servant of Two Masters is one of the sunniest comedies in the classic repertoire. As proof, check out the huge success of the modernised version, One Man Two Guvnors, starring James Corden.
The 300-old play, set in Venice, stays fresh thanks to its cast-iron comic plot: dodgy servant juggles two jobs, not realising that one of his “masters” is a woman in disguise, while the other is her lover, desperately in search of her.
The comic possibilities are delicious, and deftly milked by the master playwright Carlo Goldoni, who at his best deserves mention in the same breath as Shakespeare.
Andrew Sugden as Truffaldino
The real strength of the play, though, comes from its parade of characters, every one a carefully polished comic gem. The play gives scrumptious opportunities to its performers, and SSC's players seize their chance like gourmets pouncing on the buffet at a three-star Michelin restaurant.
Pivotal to everything that happens is the title character, Truffaldino, an entire two-act farce contained in one man. Andrew Sugden is fantastic in the part, which requires him to be a mix of Machiavellian schemer and fixer, groveller, lover, panicky runt, and compere. Truffaldino constantly manages to dig himself into deep holes, then somehow extricate himself. He provides a running commentary on his predicament, talking both to himself, and the audience as the lot thickens and he scuttles around Venice at every higher and more desperate speed. Demanding, or what? But Mr Sugden never falters, and the rest of the cast work round him with equal aplomb.
Indeed, the list of virtuoso actor and actress turns is synonymous with the cast list. Goodness knows how, but Vanessa Osborn somehow manages to package together male vanity and ladylike vulnerability, female glamour and masculine bravura. They are all combined in the part of Beatrice, who (for complex plot reasons) dresses as a sword-yielding he-man, and proves herself not at all bad in the himself role. David Goodger, as her lover Florindo, brings dash and sincerity to what is perhaps the only completely straight part in the play.
Pivotal to everything that happens is the title character, Truffaldino, an entire two-act farce contained in one man. Andrew Sugden is fantastic in the part, which requires him to be a mix of Machiavellian schemer and fixer, groveller, lover, panicky runt, and compere. Truffaldino constantly manages to dig himself into deep holes, then somehow extricate himself. He provides a running commentary on his predicament, talking both to himself, and the audience as the lot thickens and he scuttles around Venice at every higher and more desperate speed. Demanding, or what? But Mr Sugden never falters, and the rest of the cast work round him with equal aplomb.
Indeed, the list of virtuoso actor and actress turns is synonymous with the cast list. Goodness knows how, but Vanessa Osborn somehow manages to package together male vanity and ladylike vulnerability, female glamour and masculine bravura. They are all combined in the part of Beatrice, who (for complex plot reasons) dresses as a sword-yielding he-man, and proves herself not at all bad in the himself role. David Goodger, as her lover Florindo, brings dash and sincerity to what is perhaps the only completely straight part in the play.
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Madeleine Ayres is always a joy when she does rude and earthy. The part of the man-hungry maid Smeraldina might have been written for these qualities, but she is at her most effective when, exasperated beyond measure, she launches into a feminist rant, 17th century style, that reduces her victim to jelly.
Liam Bailey and Kim Tobin form a classy double act as two upper class twit lovers, 17th century P G Wodehouse characters, whose idyll is rocked to its core by the arrival, back from the dead, of a rich suitor. Mr Bailey is a definite shoe-in for the Echo's coveted Theatrical Lisp of the Year award.
Liam Bailey and Kim Tobin form a classy double act as two upper class twit lovers, 17th century P G Wodehouse characters, whose idyll is rocked to its core by the arrival, back from the dead, of a rich suitor. Mr Bailey is a definite shoe-in for the Echo's coveted Theatrical Lisp of the Year award.
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The theme of food runs through the play. James Carter is the chef/innkeeper Brighella who dispenses the meat pies and the rissoles (where's the pasta though?), along with boasts galore about his prowess in the kitchen. He is so convincing that the urge to rush on stage and snatch the food from the cast's fingertips verges on the irresistible.
Ian Downie brings a lovely sense of capsized dignity to the traditional Commedia dell'Arte role of the Pantalone, the rich but easily duped old codger.
Ian Downie brings a lovely sense of capsized dignity to the traditional Commedia dell'Arte role of the Pantalone, the rich but easily duped old codger.
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Then there is David Lobley, as a lawyer who binds everyone he meets into a legal cat's cradle. There is Ross Norman-Clarke, turning the relatively small role of a waiter into a high camp act that steals scene after scene; Denis Foot as a decrepit porter; and Sandra Smith in an almost wordless role, as a midget Mafia-style bodyguard. Between them, they ensure that the comic dynamism of the play never wavers.
As director, Julie Carter somehow manages to bring clarity and order to the breathless 32x action. Acting apart, she is buoyed by one other huge asset Madeleine Ayres's costumes draw their style from a whole range of influences. Their overall effect is to create an array of colour and texture that evokes the Venice Carnival. Brighella's tricolour chef's cap alone is worth the price of a ticket.
The Servant of Two Masters is a sunny play, a life-affirming dose of Olde Italia, devoid of any underlying dark sub-text. At curtain call, the sunniness spills over into the audience as the company join in a rendition of the Dean Martin number Amore. It forms the ideal antidote to the British nation's current woes and uncertainties. With the weather gods in obliging mood, and Southend Shakespeare Company in top form, 2017 is set to be a summer of happy memory for anyone who catches this show.
As director, Julie Carter somehow manages to bring clarity and order to the breathless 32x action. Acting apart, she is buoyed by one other huge asset Madeleine Ayres's costumes draw their style from a whole range of influences. Their overall effect is to create an array of colour and texture that evokes the Venice Carnival. Brighella's tricolour chef's cap alone is worth the price of a ticket.
The Servant of Two Masters is a sunny play, a life-affirming dose of Olde Italia, devoid of any underlying dark sub-text. At curtain call, the sunniness spills over into the audience as the company join in a rendition of the Dean Martin number Amore. It forms the ideal antidote to the British nation's current woes and uncertainties. With the weather gods in obliging mood, and Southend Shakespeare Company in top form, 2017 is set to be a summer of happy memory for anyone who catches this show.
The Servant of Two Masters
Southchurch Hall Gardens, Sun July 9, at 3pm
Leigh Library Gardens Wed July 12 to Sat July 15, nightly at 7.45
Bring own seating. Further info: 01702 473163
Photo Credits: Malcolm Toll
Southchurch Hall Gardens, Sun July 9, at 3pm
Leigh Library Gardens Wed July 12 to Sat July 15, nightly at 7.45
Bring own seating. Further info: 01702 473163
Photo Credits: Malcolm Toll