THE ROAD TO RUIN. Tol 12 October
Richmond
THE ROAD TO RUIN by Thomas Holcroft
Orange Tree Theatre To 12 October 2002
Mon-Sat 7.45pm Mat Thur 12,19 Sept. 2.30pm Sat 4pm
Audio-described 21 Sept. 4pm, 23 Sept.
Post-show discussion 4 October
Runs 2hr 15min One interval
TICKETS 020 8940 3633
www.orangetreetheatre.co.uk
Review Emma Dunford 9 September
Not performed in London since 1937, and you have to ask the simple question, why?' a first class performance.It is always slightly disconcerting when the average age of an audience reaches the 60+ mark. Will the play not stimulate and excite a younger generation? The Road to Ruin ought to - the characters are both brash and provocative, the plot fresh and quirky and the political witticisms not too far removed from jokes aimed at society today. Amazing seeing as the play was written in 1792; a real shame that it has not been performed in London since 1937. The humour is seamlessly perpetual.
is written in a tone characteristic of a reforming playwright - satirically. Punctuated by the oratorical fireworks that typify the upper classes, who use rhetoric as a means to bail themselves in and out of any situation I saw you stammering for a simile' is a line ironically uttered in the play's opening - the play sends up the society it so diligently portrays while its humour uncovers the important political need for reform in late eighteenth-century England.
It takes place over a twenty-four hour period in the lives of an assemblage of gentry. In a time of chaos, no order can be found when contesting conscience and loyalty, integrity and morality, are all brought into question when handling the contradictory and controversial issue of fortune.
Mr Dornton: authoritative, judicial, caring and doting father, is distinctly portrayed. As is his spendthrift son - although the younger Harry is more convincing as coquettish youth than as a boy brought down by social troubles. Mr Silky, the clerk, has the sinister edge needed for his character, although occasionally his enthusiasm for this role is taken a little too far. Mr Goldfinch is as loud as he is Irish - the brainless man of fashion.
Mrs Warren is superbly, wickedly flirtatious and Sophia is perfect in her role as the pretty, ignorant sweetheart who can easily lay claim to any gentleman's heart.
The cast pull all the stops out to bring this long-forgotten republican comedy home in a refreshing, lively performance. In a tiny theatre like The Orange Tree there is scope for such a play to fall flat - far from the case here as tittles of laughter abound. William Hazlitt the famous critic and essayist coined The Road to Ruin a universal favourite'. In Sam Walters' production, it definitely lives up to Hazlitt's expectations.
Mr Dornton: Terrence Hardiman
Harry Dornton: Ed Stoppard
Mr Smith: James Lloyd Pegg
Mr Sulky: Thomas Wheatley
The Widow, Warren: Auriol Smith
John Milford: Ben Warwick
Sophia: Claire Redcliffe
Jenny: Louise Yates
Mr Goldfinch: John Paul Connolly
Mr Silky: David Gooderson
The Sheriff's Officer, Jacob and Mr Williams: Chris Poter
Other parts played by members of the company
Directed by: Sam Walters
Designed by: Tim Meacock
Assistant Director: John Terry
Stage Manager: Jom Mansel
DSM on book: Samantha Tagg
Show ASM: Stuart Burgess
Production ASM: Claudia Ackenson
Technicians: Philip Berry and Stuart Burgess
Production Photographer: Robert Day
Audio-describer: Veronika Hyks
2002-09-11 17:29:09