W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) was best known as a novelist ("The Razor's Edge," "Of Human Bondage"), though he was actually one of the most successful playwrights of his time. At one time he had four plays running simultaneously in London.
This season, the Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., is presenting Maugham's seldom-seen 1921 comedy "The Circle" at the Royal George Theatre. A drawing-room comedy, it takes place in one setting -- the drawing room at Arnold Champion-Cheney's house in Dorset. Two generations and two triangles are involved, containing husband, wife and lover.
In the opening scene, we learn that Elizabeth Champion-Cheney (Moya O'Connell) has invited her husband's estranged mother for a visit. Her husband, Arnold (David Jansen), hasn't seen his mother for all of 30 years, since she went off with her husband's best friend. Elizabeth envisions her mother-in-law as rather glamorous, but when Lady Kitty (Wendy Thatcher) appears, she seems somewhat supercilious and cares more about her hair and makeup than anything else. She also constantly bickers with her companion, Lord Porteous (Michael Ball), who gave up his chance to become prime minister when he ran away with her.
We later learn that there is more here than immediately meets the eye. Elizabeth is in love with Teddie (Gray Powell) and finds Arnold a bit boring. Constantly seen repositioning a chair to his liking, he's consumed with decorating his house and collecting antiques. Thrown into the mix is Arnold's jilted father, Clive (David Schurmann), who has not lived in the house since his wife departed. He lives in a cottage on the estate and is constantly manipulating events. Direction by Neil Munro, set design by Christina Poddubiuk and lighting by Louise Guinard are all excellent. "The Circle" also presents a rare opportunity to see real-life husband and wife Michael Ball and Wendy Thatcher play the role of a couple on stage. The small cast is impeccable, right down to the tuxedo-clad butler and footman who humorously arrange the set between scenes, to the delight of the audience.
Will Elizabeth run off with her lover, following the example set a generation ago, or will responsibility and loyalty win out? Maugham keeps us guessing until the very last scene.
"The Circle" runs until Oct. 28.
Noted Irish playwright Brian Friel ("Faith Healer," "Dancing at Lughnasa") combines Russian and Irish sensibilities in his adaptation of an 1850 play by Russian playwright Ivan Turgenev. Directed by Tadeusz Bradecki, Friel's "A Month in the Country" is playing at the Shaw Festival's Court House Theatre until Oct. 6.
In truth, except for the Russian names and setting, along with some Irish humor and wit, "A Month in the Country" is pretty generic. A story of love, friendship and marriage, it could take place anywhere.
Natalya (Fiona Byrne) is seemingly happily married to Arkady (Blair Williams). She has an adopted daughter of 17 and a young son. She also has another love interest, Michel (David Jansen), her husband's best friend. Both men dote on her. Then she hires a young student to tutor her son and falls head over heels in love with him. How much love does one woman need? Natalya's ward, Vera (Marla McLean), also loves the tutor, so there are many twists and turns continuing until the very last line.
Everything is in place here -- directing, acting, costuming, etc. As Natalya, Fiona Byrne is perfect. She portrays a manipulative, very strong-willed woman who is willing to sacrifice her beloved daughter to one horrid marriage in order to remove her from the tutor. Everything in this production is finely tuned, right down to the piano music heard throughout from backstage, written by composer John Field.
"A Month in the Country" is a most engaging period piece, very well done and with some great characters who will stay with you after the final curtain descends. Running time is approximately two hours and 50 minutes, including one intermission.
Playing at the Shaw Festival's Festival Theatre is the French farce "Hotel Peccadillo" by Georges Feydeau and Maurice Desvallieres. It is adapted and directed by well-known Canadian director Morris Panych.
Much of the action of the play takes place in the Paris office of sex therapist Dr. Pinglet (Patrick Galligan). As his patient Paillardin (Benedict Campbell) bemoans his marriage, because his wife is too involved with sex and he isn't, the good doctor becomes infatuated with his patient's wife, Marcelle (Charlotte Gowdy) and sets up a meeting with her at the Hotel Peccadillo, hoping that Paillardin, a critic who uses his critical ability all too often, will be at home asleep.
But alas, Paillardin has taken Viagra and doesn't know how to react to it. Other characters appear at the hotel. There's Pinglet's nephew Maxime (Jeff Irving) and his trainee Victoire (Trish Lindstrom), who are madly in love. Add to the mix a group of Russian airline stewardesses with their pilot, Mathieu. If all this seems a bit improbable and somewhat convoluted, it is -- but remember this is, after all, a farce, a very exuberant, energetic, fast-moving one.
Acting, direction and staging are all excellent. Patrick Galligan stands out as Dr. Pinglet. "Hotel Peccadillo" premiered in Paris in 1894, well before the discovery of Viagra. In this critic's mind, some things do not update well. "Hotel Peccadillo" may be one of them. However, if you are in the mood for a classic farce, it may be what you are looking for.
What will definitely stay in you mind after you have left the Festival Theatre is a very ingenious set designed by Ken MacDonald. Done in orchids and blues, it depicts a corridor in the hotel, which is done in a one-point perspective in which doors on both sides grow smaller leading to a vanishing point. Actors, however, do not grow smaller, so as they move down the corridor they appear to be giants having to bend to enter the doorways. It is a memorable set.
"Hotel Peccadillo" runs through Oct. 7.
For tickets, call the Shaw Festival at 1-800-511-SHAW or visit the Web site at www.shawfest.com.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | July 24 2007 |