THE MARQUISE till 8 May
THE MARQUISE: Noel Coward
Touring (Bill Kenwright)
Runs: 2h 15m, two intervals
Review: Rod Dungate, Belgrade Coventry, 16 February 2004
Coward in competent mode; a bit of a collector's itemNoel Coward is so closely linked with the sophistication of 20s and 30s Society that it might come as a bit of a shock to find him setting a play in French 18th Century. The place and period, though, fit his themes like a glove: in this play that love must conquer society's conservative and inhuman conventions with an appropriate touch of hypocrite-church bashing too.
Widowed Compte Raoul de Vriaac lives with his daughter a sober life, watched over by his dead wife's confessor, Father Clement. Raoul's friend, Esteban (a Duke) tries to steer him from the straight and narrow. The Count's daughter is engaged to the Duke's son but is in love with the Count's impoverished secretary, Jacques. This unsteady equilibrium is disturbed (smashed even) with the arrival of the Count's ex lover (and mother of his daughter) Eloise (The Marquise).
It's not an awfully promising story-line and the first act takes a long time to get going. Denis Lill and Michael Jayston (Raoul and Esteban) strive manfully with Coward's dialogue which stubbornly refuses to take flight. Zoie Kennedy (Adrienne, Raoul's daughter) is a perky, confident young woman. But even her energy can't get Coward's pedestrian writing going.
With the arrival of the Marquise, though, (Kate O'Mara) the fire at last catches. By far the best of the writing is given to this character; Coward has, we can assume, constructed the entire play to feed this one role. Fortunately O'Mara proves herself more than up to the task She rolls the wit around her tongue as expertly and humorously as she winds the men around her little finger.
The second act is very funny with the best of Coward's lines. O'Mara's duologue with the Count in which she proves who wears the breaches is marvellous entertainment.
All in all, I think, a bit of a collector's item.
Cast
Compte Raoul de Vriaac: Denis Lill
Esteban el Duco de Santaguano: Michael Jayston
Miguel his son: Ben Warwick
Adrienne, Raoul's daughter: Zoie Kennedy
Jacques Rijar, Secretary of Raoul: Paul Fox
Father Clement: Michael Remick
Hubert, Stephen Chance
Marquise Eloise de Kestournel: Kate O'Mara
Alice, Marquise's maid: Jenny Tomasin
Director: Guy Retallack
Design: Tim Shortall
Lighting: Ben Ormerod
Sound: Simon Whitehorn
Fights: Richard Ryan
Music Composed and Performed: Tim Phillips and Marc Teitler
2004-02-17 15:35:56