There is a certain irony to writing a review of a play entitled The Critic.
The first act of Richard Brimsley Sheridan’s 1779 play sees the aptly named Sir Fretful Plagiary (Cameron Maiklem) reduced to a gibbering wreck. Crimson lighting blazes down on him, as Mr Dangle (Gillies Macdonald), Mrs Dangle (Fiona Bestrova) and Mr Sneer (Hugh Linklater) all swoop around him, quoting unflattering verdicts on his play. Rest assured – this review will not be nearly as vicious.
Yet, I must be honest: when reading through The Critic in preparation for this review, my initial impression was that Sheridan’s play was somewhat tedious. A satirical meta-commentary about theatre, the play begins with Mr and Mrs Dangle sniping at one another about critical reviews before the entrance of Mr Sneer and Sir Fretful (the latter of whom has a near nervous breakdown in the face of criticism). The focus then shifts to Mr Puff (Noam Sala Budgen) and the rehearsal of his most recent (dreadful) play The Spanish Armada.
The Critic has flashes of wit in its portrayal of unstable playwrights, long-suffering actors and Puff’s excruciatingly terrible The Spanish Armada. Moreover, its puncturing of various untrustworthy methods used by theatre critics (“puffs”) through the figure of Mr Puff is certainly insightful, even if the sheer number of times I read this noun set my teeth on edge. As a whole, however, I did not find Sheridan’s play particularly humorous or engaging. Sheridan’s insistence on repeating his witticisms ad nauseam (the “puffs” being particularly guilty here) deprives them of much of their original humour, to the point of boredom. To be clear, this is just a personal opinion. The Critic is hailed by many as a classic piece of eighteenth-century satire. It just happens not to be my cup of tea.
For this reason, I was pleasantly surprised by Playing Productions’ take on The Critic (directed by Phoenix Barnett).
Barnett aptly deals with layers of staging, introducing a fresh twist into Sheridan’s already complex play by incorporating a contemporary layer. The very staging of The Critic is laid bare. When the house lights switched back on for the first (of many) times, the moment of realisation that no, this was not a boldly-dressed audience member but rather another actor in the role of ‘director’ for Sheridan’s play was greeted with a burst of laughter.
This updating of the show (as well as judicious cuts of the original text, such as the scene between the two ‘Signor Pasticcio Ritornellos’ and the interpreter) is an excellent choice. In fact, adding a modern director into the mix enables some of the play’s most comical moments, particularly in the abrupt transitions between antiquated and (explosively sweary) modern registers. Linklater, for example, as he switches between the role of Sneer and that of Sneer’s actor, delivers in the same breath: “A marvellously well-done performance – This is stupid.” Similarly, the supposedly biting retort “check your script” is hurled back and forth across the stage as the play snaps between levels of staging. For this reason, most of the actors ended up playing multiple roles – a challenging feat well tackled.
Adding a modern layer of staging to this play also enables the introduction of ‘the director.’ Hipster beret tilted at an angle so sheer you wonder it does not fall off her head, Wendy Shi delivers the patronising, authoritative façade of a director all too aware that her actors are on the brink of mutiny. Even when the main action is unfolding within Sheridan’s world of The Critic, Shi (sitting in the dark, and seemingly part of the audience) maintains her squirm-inducing advances towards Bestrova, the only figure on stage who she greets with nods of approval.
Bestrova, too, gives a very strong performance. First mastering the cut-glass, affected drawl of Mrs Dangle, and then the squeaky over-acting of a tragic melodrama in the figure of Tilburina, she is a stand-out figure of the production. Much as Shi performs a lecherous figure of ridicule, I am inclined to agree with her judgement: I have few notes for Bestrova. Her facial reactions to the more absurd parts of the play are particularly entertaining.
Indeed, many of The Critic’s best moments consist of the priceless facial expressions from its actors. Looking back over my notes on the play, I found repeatedly scrawled “Mr Dangle – good petulant expression” and “solid wincing” (directed at all cast members in turn). Sir Walter Raleigh’s (Jem Hunter) increasingly pained upspeak, Maiklem’s semi-constant anguished hand wringing as Sir Fretful, and Budgen’s nonchalant ‘late’ entrance into the Pilch all convey actors who are increasingly weary of the project they are working on.
The presence of a pianist (Alexander McNamee) was also a good addition to the play, with his ominous background music (including excerpts from Vivaldi’s “Winter” and an anachronistic usage of Beethoven’s “Pathétique”) acting as a thread uniting all three layers of the production. However, The Pilch only has a small stage, and there were occasional volume problems, with the piano sometimes overpowering what the actors were saying. Similarly, an overall tendency to speak too quickly meant that it was sometimes a strain to understand the dialogue.
Overall, however, Playing Productions have staged a fun adaptation of a play which is – in my opinion – less than stellar in its original form. The production team has made some solid creative innovations to The Critic, and the actors all embrace the spirit of intense melodrama which permeates Sheridan’s play.
[The Critic, a production by Playing Productions, is running at The Michael Pilch Studio, 5th-8th Feb]