THE MASSIVE TRAGEDY OF MADAME BOVARY

Southwark Playhouse Borough

★★★

“a high-spirited affair that the cast dive into with relish, commitment and enviable energy”

Gustave Flaubert, the champion of realism, spent five years writing “Madame Bovary” only to find himself charged with immorality. Thankfully he was later acquitted, and the notoriety that the trial provoked accelerated the novel’s rise to bestseller status. It is now considered Flaubert’s masterpiece; one that maintains its revered place in literature (its influences have reached the likes of Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf and James Joyce). Okay, the novel was a touch bleak, to say the least, and we all know that it ends in tragedy. John Nicholson might be exaggerating the magnitude of the misery by prefixing his retelling of the story with the word ‘massive’. And he might be missing the point by unashamedly turning it into a farcical comedy. By his own admission, Nicholson has ‘lovingly derailed’ the story. Interpret that how you will. After all, theatre is all about free expression, and this play is very free with it.

The story of the cuckolded country doctor and his frustrated, pleasure-seeking wife is turned on its head as it wields its slapstick and wry exposition with such force that the fourth wall has no chance of standing. Even a sabotaged attempt at changing the ending is allowed into the edit. The result is a stew of French and Saunders, Blackadder and Upstart Crow, with a generous side order of pantomime. It is a high-spirited affair that the cast dive into with relish, commitment and enviable energy. Georgia Nicholson, as the ruffled Madame Bovary seeking amorous adventure, is surrounded by the whirlwind threesome of Stephen Cavanagh, Ben Kernow and Darren Seed who play at least a couple of dozen other characters. The story begins at the end with Madame Bovary recounting her life story to a pair of ratcatchers who have arrived in the village of Yonville. At times it is almost like a speed run. A ‘Potted Panto’ performed by ‘The Reduced Flaubert Company’.

Buried deep in the silliness are strokes of ingenuity. Kirstie Davis’ staging is slick and precise. Beneath the mayhem there is a reliance on accuracy of movement and timing, which the actors are well practiced at. Grace Murdoch’s movement and choreography is an extended conjuring trick, albeit one that seems to have wandered in from the set of ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’. Like the jokes, the influences are manifold, and the bawdy humour does become relentless and predictable. Nevertheless, the versatility of each performer shines through as they switch characters and costume at lightning speed.

You cannot help but admire the irreverence. Their approach to Flaubert’s text is embodied when, at one point, one of the ratcatchers exclaims “you took the words out of my mouth… but in a different order… and with different words”. There is a clear echo of Eric Morecambe’s famous line brilliantly delivered to André Previn. The bravery of this company matches its tongue-in-cheek audacity. In his mausoleum in Rouen, I’m sure Flaubert must be grinning, even if it can’t quite conceal an expression of open-mouthed bemusement. Over in Southwark, the audience seem to be of a similar opinion. Between moments of bewilderment the laughs come thick and fast (though as a grin rather than the out-loud variety) in this risqué, eccentric and anarchic comedy.

THE MASSIVE TRAGEDY OF MADAME BOVARY at Southwark Playhouse Borough

Reviewed on 9th December 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Tanya Pabaru

Previously reviewed at Southwark Playhouse venues:

THE HAPPIEST MAN ON EARTH | ★★★★★ | November 2024

[TITLE OF SHOW] | ★★★ | November 2024

THE UNGODLY | ★★★ | October 2024

FOREVERLAND | ★★★★ | October 2024

JULIUS CAESAR | ★★★ | September 2024

DORIAN: THE MUSICAL | ★★½ | July 2024

THE BLEEDING TREE | ★★★★ | June 2024

FUN AT THE BEACH ROMP-BOMP-A-LOMP!! | ★★★ | May 2024

MAY 35th | ★★★½ | May 2024

SAPPHO | ★★ | May 2024

CAPTAIN AMAZING | ★★★★★ | May 2024

WHY I STUCK A FLARE UP MY ARSE FOR ENGLAND | ★★★★★ | April 2024

THE MASSIVE TRAGEDY OF MADAME BOVARY

We’re now on BLUESKY – click to visit and follow

★★★★

“There is a simplicity to the evening that allows the storytelling and the inherent values of its message shine through”

The rain is falling from a dark, wintry sky and storm Darragh is rumbling away in the near distance heralding its arrival across the home counties. But down at the Mill at Sonning, tucked away in a nook by the river, one’s dreams of a White Christmas are being granted – if only for a few hours. Step over the threshold and you are indeed stepping right into the festive season. Just like the ones we used to know.

It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen the Crosby and Kaye movie over the years, Jonathan O’Boyle’s revival of the stage version is as fresh as it is familiar. Jason Kajdi and Connor Hughes as Bob Wallace and Phil Davies – the former WWII soldiers turned celebrity double-act – share the same infectious camaraderie as Bing and Danny, but with a more youthful, wide-eyed approach to the world around them. Their bond is a prime example of ‘opposites attract’. Hughes’ Phil cannot get enough of the fairer sex (are you allowed to use that term these days?) while Kajdi steers his character away from love like sheltering from the “unpredictable, irresponsible, unbelievable, unreliable” weather.

The plot, slim as it is, and characterisation (rich as it is) come across with clarity through the fine voices of the cast. The duo recruit sisters, Betty and Judy (Gabriella Williams and Nic Myers), into their act, sweeping the four of them into a tangled romance that forms the backbone of the comedy. They end up in Vermont, New York, at a Christmas holiday lodge run by their old Major General from the army (Mark Curry). The former general sank his life savings into the inn but has fallen on hard times as the lack of snow is keeping his customers away. Hatching a plan to save his business, and restore his self-esteem, Bob and Phil trigger a series of misunderstandings and near break-ups with the girls before realisation and reconciliation comes to the rescue. You get the idea. O’Boyle’s trim and elegant staging will give you a much better idea.

There is a simplicity to the evening that allows the storytelling and the inherent values of its message shine through. Jason Denvir’s uncluttered sets, with David Howe’s lighting are all about atmosphere. This is a show that creates moods rather than spectacle and is all the more heart-warming for these choices. As the sister act, Williams and Myers match the boys’ chemistry, exemplified in the iconic number ‘Sisters’ (also beautifully and hilariously parodied by Bob and Phil). Irving Berlin’s music and lyrics are served well by the core cast and the ensemble who handle the dynamics of the score with ease, from the razzmatazz to the intimate. An unseen seven-piece band perfectly follows – and leads – the highs and lows of Berlin’s melodies and lyricism. All the favourites are all there: ‘Happy Holiday’, Love and the Weather’, ‘The Best Things Happen When You’re Dancing’, ‘I Love a Piano’… and so on. A star turn by Shirley Jameson as Martha, the holiday inn’s housekeeper, lifts her solo number ‘Falling Out of Love Can Be Fun’ into one of the highlights.

The production is in no rush, and the first act shows tentative signs of outstaying its welcome. However, we are in no rush at all for the evening to reach its sugar-coated but deliciously festive and heart-warming finale. We are too busy being drawn into the comfort and joy of the performances. There are no surprises. We know exactly what’s beneath the wrapping. But it is all we could have wished for. It may still be raining outside, but inside the Mill at Sonning it is snowing. Our dreams of a White Christmas have come true indeed. The show is a dream.

THE MASSIVE TRAGEDY OF MADAME BOVARY

Southwark Playhouse Borough

★★★

“a high-spirited affair that the cast dive into with relish, commitment and enviable energy”

THE MASSIVE TRAGEDY OF MADAME BOVARY at Southwark Playhouse Borough

Reviewed on 9th December 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Tanya Pabaru

Previously reviewed at Southwark Playhouse venues:

THE MASSIVE TRAGEDY OF MADAME BOVARY

THE MASSIVE TRAGEDY OF MADAME BOVARY

WHITE CHRISTMAS

The Mill at Sonning

★★★★

“There is a simplicity to the evening that allows the storytelling and the inherent values of its message shine through”

WHITE CHRISTMAS at The Mill at Sonning

Reviewed on 6th December 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Pamela Raith

Previously reviewed at this venue:

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