16 October 2006

The Alchemist by Ben Johnson

Subtle, The Alchemist - Alex Jennings
Face, The Housekeeper - Simon Russell Beale
Dol Common - Lesley Manville
Dapper, a clerk - Bryan Dick
Abel Drugger, a Tobacconist - Amit Shah
Sir Epicure Mammon, a Knight - Ian Richardson
Pertinax Surly, a Gamester - Tim McMullan
Tribulation Wholesome, a pastor - Ian Barritt
Ananias, a Deacon - Sam Spurrell
Kastril, the Angry Boy - Tristan Beint
Dame Pliant, his sister - Elisabeth Dermot Walsh
Lovewit, Owner of the House - Julian Curry
and various neighbours

Directed by Nicholas Hytner
Designed by Mark Thompson

at the Olivier Theatre



Don't ask me to enjoy farce but in this case the performances were so good that I could tollerate all the silliness and as farces go, this was moderately clever. Great set given the nature of the door opening circus but I will have to say I saw it out of duty more than anything else. Can't miss Simon Russell Beale when he's in town, can you?

In my defence, I got the ticket on a cheapie standby because I was already in the auditorium to see Brenda Blethyn do a platform discussion. Hmmmmm