The Busy Body

'We're worth an evening in the stalls/We might be girls but we've got balls'

Underneath the brick railway arches at Southwark Playhouse, there's an unmissable masterclass going on nightly in how to play Restoration comedy.  Young director Jessica Swale's triumphant revival of a forgotten 300-year-old play by a woman is no fluke;  it's her third 18th century play at Southwark, and for my money it's the best and funniest. Ms Swale is the artistic director of Red Handed Theatre, which staged Sheridan's The Rivals in 2010 and Hannah Cowley's The Belle's Stratagem in 2011 at the same venue.

Her achievement in bringing back to life Susanna Centlivre's The Busy Body tempts me to recycle all the cliches I used in reviewing Red Handed's other productions (fizzing champagne etc etc).  Anyone who has the patience to click through to my earlier reviews will find that all the qualities I found in the two earlier shows are to be found in this one, plus a few more.  This production ranks with Josie Rourke's superb The Recruiting Officer at the Donmar six months ago, particularly in its use of music.  In some ways it's even better, and I shall attempt to explain why it works so well.

One of the director's strengths, possibly honed by working at Shakespeare's Globe, is a bold approach to breaking down the invisible barrier between cast and audience and making the spectators feel part of the show.  This isn't as easy as it looks, and it can degenerate into Christmas panto if some actors are more comfortable with it than others.  In this production the balance is perfect;  the actors all manage to simultaneously act to each other and to the audience in a seamless way, blending dialogue and theatrical asides to the front row of the stalls.  The result is a delight to watch -- with brilliant timing, inventive musical interludes using a mixture of 18th century ballads and 21st century ditties, a crisp minimum of set and props, and a consistent style which fuses period and modern elements. 

Susanna Centlivre (I quote from the excellent and programme) was a real person -- a woman actor, poet and writer of 19 plays, of which The Busie Body was the most successful.  By 1800 it had been performed over 450 times, and it's easy to see why.  It's a better play than The Belle's Stratagem, with some excellent one-liners, including such classics as 'No more puppy-hunting about my house!' and 'You shall not see my monkey!' 

The traditional plot elements are all there -- two young couples yearning for matrimony who overcome the obstacles set by an over-protective mother and a mean and jealous male guardian. But nobody goes to Restoration comedy for originality of plot;  in fact this play has one character, Marplot, the Busy Body of the title, who breaks the usual pattern.  Ably played by Cerith Flynn as a dim Welshman with a badly bruised nose, Marplot is an idiot with good intentions whose interference repeatedly brings the young couples' schemes to the verge of disaster.

This production has four very strong leads in Alexandra Guelff (MIranda), Ella Smith (Isabinda), Matthew Spencer (Sir George Airy) and Michael Lindall (Charles).  Ms Guelff is particularly good in conveying Miranda's inner disgust as she submits to the roving hands of her guardian Sir Francis Gripe while pretending to be in love with him.  Matthew Spencer, like a younger, slightly balder version of David Cameron, has a wonderful 18th century face which could have strayed out of a portrait by Gainsborough.  He's excellent as Sir George, a young man who occasionally overplays his hand, particularly in a very funny wooing scene where he is battling against the clock.  Michael Lindall is equally good as his friend Charles, leaping over balconies to gain access to Isabinda, who is imprisoned by her dragon of a mother Lady Jealous Traffic, who hopes to marry her off to a Spaniard. 

When I first saw Ella Smith on stage playing a gin-seller in Jessica Swale's production of Bedlam at Shakespeare's Globe, I described her as 'large and lovely', and the description still applies.  All I can say is that I cannot think of any actress with half her gift for comedy.  Her shriek of recognition when she realises that the 'Spaniard' she is supposed to marry is in fact Charles, hiding behind a false moustache, is one of the many brilliantly timed moments in her performance.  Her scenes with her mother, played by the hugely experienced Gay Soper, are to my mind the best in the show.   Together with Frances Marshall, who plays their servant Patch, they form a wonderful comic trio.

A final word of praise must go to Harriet Oughton, musical director and composer, who has turned Jessica Swale's witty interludes into stylish songs, giving the play an extra dimension.  My only note of disappointment is to register the fact that very few reviewers were there for press night; I know critics for the national press have multiple claims on their time, but they're missing something quite special. show.  It runs to October 6 and richly deserves a longer outing elsewhere. Tickets for Southwark Playhouse, at £10-20, cost less than the RSC or the National Theatre charge, and a tiny fraction of what West End audiences have to pay.  Once again it shows that some of the best London theatre has to offer is to be found in smaller fringe venues.

   

Comments

[Blair and Jackie Staynings]

The audience were clearly enthralled on Saturday during the matinee....we never laughed so much as when Lady Jealous was at her supper and Patch and isabinda were trying to deter Charles from entering the room! brilliant timing, wonderful music and comic lyrics with the most melodic a-capella singing. A MUST SEE!!!

Blair and Jackie Staynings from Oxford.