4 STARS; until January 20; Catherine Bardrick enjoys a sparkling comedy of mayhem and mischief as Surrey is invaded by Socialism and Feminism. Life in a country house will never be the same again.
Coming hot on the heels of two other plays by Shaw namely “Widowers’ Houses” and “The Philanderer”, director Paul Miller delights Orange Tree audiences again with his exuberant and exhilarating revival of a neglected gem “Misalliance” not seen on the London stage since 1986. The whipcracking fast pace and superb comic timing breathes new life into this obscure classic, highlighting not only the farcical and anarchic absurdity of the comedy, but also the contemporary and relevant resonances of weighty themes and ideas. Feminist acrobatic aviators drop out of the skies (quite literally) and proceed to cart off out-of-shape patriarchs to the gymnasium, who once returned from gruelling and strenuous workouts, fall immediate prey to young, pistol-waving Socialist assassins who suddenly pop out of the portable Turkish bath. Yes! It is indeed a play stuffed full of mayhem and mischief.
Set in 1909, the action takes place on a single afternoon in Hindhead, Surrey at the country house of self-made underwear magnate and pompous patriarch Mr Tarleton whose daughter Hypatia, restless and desperate for adventure, has just become engaged to Bentley Summerhays the insufferable spoilt and cosseted son of Lord Summerhays colonial aristocrat who enjoys explaining how he subdued unrest in India. Long-suffering Mrs Tarleton and smug philistine son Johnny complete the family set-up of a self-satisfied middle-class milieu which is all blown to smithereens by the disrupting arrival of Lina the forthright feminist, Joey the dashing but dangerous aviator, and not forgetting the Fabian intruder. The complication of not one but EIGHT marriage proposals ensues over the course of the afternoon – all subject of course to classification as a “Misalliance”.
The ensemble of actors have all been expertly cast resulting in highly accomplished performances all round. High praise should be heaped upon all of them for such expert comic timing in a tightly limited space especially to Gabrielle Lloyd whose perfectly pitched performance as Mrs Tarleton strikes exactly the right note throughout, and is often in danger of stealing the show. Pip Donaghy is very convincing as the bombastic Tarleton, Simon Shepherd suitably suave as the smooth aristocrat, Tom Hanson very persuasive as the indignant, overlooked son, and Luke Thallon (recently nominated for the Evening Standard Emerging Talent Award) delivers an assured performance as Joey Percival, future husband of Hypatia, with just the right edge of cynical menace signalling the imminent takeover by the younger generation. Marli Siu expertly displays the cruelty of frustrated youth as Hypatia, and Lara Rossi puts in a delightful comic turn as the powerful Lina who has all the men smitten and under her thrall within minutes, but there were a couple of false and grating notes struck by the excessively high-camp performance by Rhys Isaac-Jones as Bentley and the excessively rushed and intense performance by Jordan Mifsud as the would-be assassin, which perhaps would have benefitted from a different directorial decision.
Memorable characters drive the plot forward, but like all of Shaw’s plays “Misalliance” is also stuffed full of weighty and heavy ideas – many of which are his favourite hobby-horses ranging from class, gender, and equality to education, free libraries, and generational conflict. Society is portrayed as the stifling corset of constraints dictated by convention, class and gender, the house is a “stuffy rabbit hutch” and escape is needed so that characters can be free to be their true selves. At times the play which is sub-titled “A debate in one sitting” can seem to be over-burdened by this verbosity or in Hypatia’s words “eternal cackle” as she complains about everyone’s need to talk excessively, but Paul Miller’s smart and pacy direction successfully puts the focus on the current relevance of these ideas and themes. This is not only a highly entertaining and fun-filled night out at the theatre with plenty of laugh out loud moments, but also a thought provoking and engaging experience too. You will certainly be left wondering exactly why this play has remained hidden from the London stage for over thirty years.
Misalliance is showing at Orange Tree Theatre until January 20; for tickets see box office
