Review: The Miser on the West End

2.5 STARS. Unfortunately the genius of Molière's social commentary in The Miser was buried underneath an avalanche of slapstick and farce, says Aliya Al-Hassan

The genius of seventeenth century playwright Molière is his barely concealed social criticism, hidden under large swathes of satire and slapstick comedy. One of his most famous plays, The Miser, comes to Richmond Theatre this week before a West End transfer.

The play follows the exploits of the miserly Harpagon, obsessed with protecting his money at the cost of everything else. When daughter Elise and son Cléante fall in love and want to marry, Harpagon’s focus is not who will make them happy, but who will be as profitable to him as possible. When his cash is stolen, Harpagon ends up agreeing for his children to marry who they want, in return for his beloved money.

In this production, Molière’s story is almost an irrelevance, as the slapstick and farce completely take over. Although some of Molière’s characters were originally derived from the Italian Punch and Judy shows of the Commedia dell’Arte, he always combined biting satire and wit with more subtle comedy and social commentary. This is completely missing in this production. The comedy rests almost entirely on a pantomime of bawdy innuendo, speech impediments and lazy repetitions of physical jokes such as fingers getting slammed in the lid of a harpsichord and a foot being mistakenly thrust through the seat of a chair.

The play is ‘freely adapted’ by Sean Foley and Phil Porter who throw in interminable puns using mangled ‘Franglais’ and lines about cuts to front line services and Universal Credit in an effort to bring modern references to an old play. Broadly, these do not work, as they are neither funny nor clever enough. This adaptation shows each character as more caricature rather than trusting in any development of the role. Any subtlety in Molière’s messages about society and manners is lost completely.

There would be little reason to see the show without the talents of certain members of the cast. Griff Rhys Jones is the obvious draw as the curmurgeonly Harpagon; his is a selfish, rude and angry performance and his voice booms out with great gravitas. He is particularly skilled at showing the paranoia of Harpagon and the scene where he directly accuses the audience of collusion in the theft of his money works well. However, the parable element of the play, where Harpagon’s behaviour is an example of how not to live, is swallowed in a rather painful musical finale.

Lee Mack plays Harpagon's beleaguered manservant Maître Jacques. It is clear that Mack’s experience in stand-up, rather than as a comic actor, is in use here. He gets some of the better lines, but the material he is given is often weak. The other big name is Mathew Horne, who plays butler Valère. He is underused in the role and so lacks much chance to shine.

Comedian Andy Osho makes a valiant effort to inject droll wit into the role of matchmaker Frosine. Her lines seem funnier as she has sharp delivery and uses good physical comedy, but her singing stretches her talents a little too far.

The production looks good; Alice Power’s crumbling set and bright costume design is fun, with Ryan Gage’s Cléante particularly good as a preening peacock, wearing enough lace ruffles and silk bows to satisfy Marie Antoinette herself.

The cast is strong, but the material is weak. Molière is known as a master of comedy, but this adaptation strips away the depth and genius of his work, reducing it to a bawdy pantomime.