Sheridan tends to get smothered in fluttering fans, flouncing petticoats and a good deal of actorish posturing, pace the late Sir Ralph Richardson, so this unusual production for the RSC by Declan Donnellan, late of Cheek by Jowl, designed by his long-term partner, Nick Ormerod, is in some ways a welcome breath of fresh air. The RSC has not performed the play since 1942, so it is difficult to see why Adrian Noble did not come up with one more in the traditions of that institution, rather than inviting a cuckoo like Donnellan into the company nest. It is set in a red brick warehouse where the Prince of Wales is partying, the cast being his guests. Lined with galleries, which afford lots of nooks and crannies for the cast, on stage all the time, to watch what is going on, apt in a play about gossip and overhearing things. This is hardly the Theatre Royal, Haymarket approach, which would be
more in the manner of Fragonard than Hogarth.
Matthew Macfadyen makes an endearing Charles Surface, Jason O'Mara oozes hypocrisy as his double dealing brother, Joseph, and Deborah Findlay, Celia Imrie, and Stephen Mangan could not be bettered as the gossips. Emma Fielding is a spirited Irish Lady Teazle, but, admirable though Kenneth Cranham is, Donnellan's approach to the play diminishes the role of Sir Peter Teazle. It is Tim Wylton's rumbustuous Sir Oliver Surface who dominates, something Richardson would never have allowed.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article