Review of The School for Scandal at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Written almost 250 years ago, Richard Brinsley Sheridan's play The School for Scandal, has, I freely admit, passed me by, and I had very little knowledge going into the theatre to see this new Tilted Wig production, directed by Seán Aydon, of what it was even about. Sadly, it has to be said, there was a great deal at the interval I didn't know either.

Looking back at the performance a day later, I feel that I have finally got a handle on why as a play this is very difficult to get into, and unlike my initial thought of the somewhat old language it exhibits (a slightly more modern Shakespeare vibe), I feel now that the direction of the performers is a little to blame. The School for Scandal you see is set in a world of larger-than-life characters and for much of the first act, these are played by the performers as larger than even that, with exaggerated delivery of lines, high emphasis on certain words, and delivered a decibel or two too high to be easy on the ear. As a result, for those who do not know the story (hands-up again here on that), the story can get swept away in all of this, leaving some audience members lost.

My realisation came I feel with the fact that the second act is so much easier to follow, so much more enjoyable to listen to and, just well, a much more fun experience as you are finally able to get a grip on the story hidden in Sheridan's play.

It is a great shame as an excellent cast has been assembled, excellent at playing multiple parts in most instances and full of energy and ability. Leading the ensemble is Joseph Marcell as Sir Peter Teazle, not exactly fresh from it, but a former cast member of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, who has more recently made a name for himself as a stage performer on our shores. His performance is one of the strongest and doesn't suffer from a great deal of the overplaying coaxed out of the other actors.

The rest of the cast each have a pair of characters to handle and nearly all have one excellent role and another played a little too frenetically. Maybe Guy Dennys as Rowley and the slippery Snake fairs the best as both of his characters lean to the less dramatic in their creation and prove both entertaining in their own way.

Elsewhere, Garmon Rhys provides an excellent Charles Surface, but with Backbite, the initial humour from the character is lost very rapidly with the sort of one-trick pony he is, over-the-top exuberance. This can be levelled at all the presentations of the "big" characters, over-played, over-the-top and relying too much on caricature to make them interesting within the story.

This leaves all of the actors best in their "normal" characters. Lydea Perkins is a delight as Lady Teazle, here only to make Sir Peter's life a misery until he decides no longer to have one, and Alex Phelps is an excellent Joseph, brother of Charles, constantly trying to dig himself out of trouble. I did I admit enjoy both of Tony Timberlake's characters both played at the right level with no need for this blasted exuberant style.

What The School of Scandal does have though is the looks, from Sarah Beaton's dramatically perfect cutback set onto the crispest of coloured costumes and all lit perfectly, and scene-driven, by Peter Small, there is nothing not to like the look of that is for sure.

Unfortunately, from a mixture of directorial decisions muddying the story and a surprising lack of pace in this long play,The School of Scandal never quite gels like you would hope leaving a muddied first half recovered slightly by a more solid second. It is fun but ultimately unfulfilling.

Full of colour and larger-than-life characters but often a confusing story to follow.
⭐⭐⭐

Performance reviewed: Tuesday 21st May 2024 at the Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton.

The School for Scandal is on stage at Royal & Derngate until Saturday 25th May 2024 before continuing its tour.

For further details about the Royal & Derngate and to book tickets see their website at http://www.royalandderngate.co.uk

Photos: Robling Photography

Review of Of Mice And Men at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Other than, randomly, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The War of the Worlds , John Steinbeck's classic Of Mice and Men is perhaps one of the most familiar of stories to me. I have seen it several times before, and while at school, we studied it, and dissected it like the work of Mr Shakespeare, but with Steinbeck, I got out the other side still liking it. This brand new version from Selladoor Productions, which opened in Canterbury last week, brings a by-the-book presentation of the trials of George and his slow, but incredibly strong friend, Lennie, to the stage. Perhaps, this is its first issue blocking a huge success from this production, in that it rarely does anything brave or different. It's clearly been expertly cast visually, with the hulking form of Matthew Wynn as Lennie, and the diminutive (in comparison) Richard Keightley and Kamran Darabi-Ford as George and Curley respectively. Darabi-Ford especially perfect in his tremendously awkward scenes wit...

Review of Northern Ballet - The Great Gatsby at Milton Keynes Theatre

This production of The Great Gatsby performed by Northern Ballet was my fifth encounter at the theatre of a full ballet production and as before, I happily share my review of the show with nearly zero knowledge of-the-art form and more of a casual theatre-goer. You could say that this is a poor direction to come in on a review, but I would say that casual audience are the ones to review this for. Over the years, Northern Ballet has set quite a high benchmark for ballet productions, and any audience member who is worth their salt as a ballet fan would no doubt have tickets for this new touring version of the 2013 version of The Great Gatsby , lovingly created by David Nixon OBE. So much is Nixon part of the very fabric of this show, that he not only provides the choreography and direction but also the initial scenario and costume design (assisted by Julie Anderson). So, discounting those ballet fans already sitting in the audience, what does this offer for the more casual theatre-goer ...

Review of Flash Festival 2016: Red Inquisition by Memoir Theatre at Castle Hill URC

Red Inquisition from Memoir Theatre evolves from a theatre groups creation of a play based on the 1947 Hollywood blacklist and McCarthyism So that I can get it out the way early on and take this review in a more upbeat direction that Red Inquisition deserves, I am going to get a real bugbear done first. There was a huge negative for me from this production and one that I ended up getting negative vibes from. For me there was far too much video and audio footage in this production. Much of it was while excellently researched, surplus to requirements. The were a couple of occasions especially where we saw material repeated on screen that had already been performed. The show did not need this and for me theatre is not about watching a screen in any case, its about seeing performances. This however does need to be taken as a positive as what I am simply saying is that I wanted more acting from the trio of Daniel Hadjivarnava, Ciara Goldsberry and Jaryd Headley as they work excellently ...

A Small Mind At The Theatre

Search This Blog