MISERYGUTS. To 19 April.
Scotland
MISERYGUTS
by Liz Lochhead, after Moliere’s The Misanthrope
Royal Lyceum Theatre To 19 April 2002
7.45 Mats Wed 3,10 & Sat 6, 13 + Sun 7April 2.30pm
Runs 2hr 30min One interval
TICKETS 0131 248 4848
Review Thelma Good 23 March
Indigenous wit and rhyming shafts, plus the best of bitch fights with words.What was it like to see Moliere’s original, when the society he poked fun at sat in the seats of the Palais-Royal Theatre in 1666? The historical record says it received cool interest but in Liz Lochhead’s 2002 version set strikingly in the media and political world of the evolved, devolved Scottish capital the reaction is warm, and the laughter self- mocking. Moliere's spirit must be in 7th heaven.
Cownie’s cast, lead by that excellent comic sprite Jimmy Chisholm as Alec (Alceste), has Edinburgh society beside itself with mirth as Lochhead slams into all, including playwright Ros Riverbed, with, as Alec says, her "numpty doggerel 'translations'"! First rule of Scottish behaviour - joke about yourself then the rest of us - is here played to the full. The script sparkles with its indigenous wit and rhyming shafts.
Cora Bisset's Celia, Alex's sexy and manipulative newsreader lover, charms the men, like the noodles they are, into a beautiful woman's snares. Honest Alex, acerbic at the Scottish scene, fails to see through her despite his producer Phil - acely performed by Greg Powrie - hinting that Celia isn't into truth like Alec. Clint and Archie, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, are two MSP's fawning over her; several real MSPs might fit their suits.
And then there's Oscar the kilted poet, given a charismatic zeal by the wonderfully-different-every-time-I-see-him John Kielty. As Ellie Bird, Celia's half sister carrying a torch which Alex refuses to see, Helen Lomax gives us the character's heart. And Janette Foggo's Zoe Arnott, feminist, journalist, cultural columnist, is superb as she stands uneven-hemmed, a fashion-disaster, slagging Celia in the best type of bitch fight with words, the timing tensioned and rising as we roar at their tussle.
Played on Rose's revolving set, where mini scenes happen in corridors, ensuring the pace never slackens, and lit skilfully by Davies, this play comes from the pen of a woman I hope will never dry - one who can cheer and make merry mischief as well as provide darker dramas. The text has just been published, with her earlier version of Tartuffe, by Nick Hern Books.
Alec Frew: Jimmy Chisholm
Philip Innes: Greg Powrie
Oscar Scougall: John Kielty
'Clint' Andrews: Barrie Hunter
Archie Faribairn: Ronnie Simon
Celia Mann: Cora Bissett
Zoe Arnott: Janette Foggo
Ellie Bird: Helen Lomax
Director: Tony Cownie
Designer: Geoff Rose
Lighting: Jeanine Davies
2002-03-31 09:44:46