Scandaltown review – smut and silliness in fashionable Restoration comedy | Theatre
In Mike Bartlett’s rambunctious, contemporary-working day Restoration comedy, there are scripted guidelines that “everything should really be joyful and fun”. Less than the way of Rachel O’Riordan, Scandaltown is a springtime pantomime of types, in which the basic features of 18th-century restoration dramas are re-spun with understanding humour, smut, silliness and arch references to the hypocrisies of the state, whilst the political satire in by itself isn’t sharp plenty of to sting.
There is considerably delight in the spoofing of its genre: the usually revealing names, from Matt Eton (Richard Goulding), a repressed Etonian and Tory politician, to the conspicuously marginal character, Freddie Peripheral (Luke Hornsby). The basic restoration drama qualities are all entertainingly around-egged, from disguises and comic asides to time period language (whence, thereof, t’was), and the compulsory showdown when mystery paternities are discovered and grudges unburdened.
In its best moments it has the look of an expensively created Monty Python sketch with pastiche that definitely is joyous. But it gets baggier as it goes on and by the end begins to resemble a flabby ITV comedy with somewhat also predictable jokes on Tory politicians, their partying and policies above the pandemic. Eton, the secretary of point out for procurement with a Day by day Mail columnist spouse (Emma Cunniffe), has a large-handed, albeit amusing, resemblance to a well known Conservative politician.
The topical satire jibes at privileged media types, as well, but the snarkiest broadsides are reserved for the millennial generation, which listed here spouts sanctimonious statements on local weather alter and capitalism. A person among the them is Jack Virtue (Matthew Broome), who turns against fellow millennials and their “tyranny of virtue” to become a little something of a Byronic rake.
Just as in Bartlett’s Really like Adore Love, the generations are in struggle these who grew up in the 1990s are dismissed by young people as the “disgusting generation” of egocentric, greedy porn fans. The older large amount, in flip, pillory them for their exhibitionist advantage signalling, Twitter activism and veganism.
Rachael Stirling as Girl Susan Climber 1st seems on phase draped across a chaise longue in a fantastic basque and gold match (Kinnetia Isidore’s wardrobe is uniformly phenomenal alongside with Very good Teeth’s opulent set), her butler swiping her relationship application for her. She is sparky in her central part, along with a forged that is good across the board.
Nevertheless, the tempo and wit sag soon after the interval, the ultimate revelations are not dynamic sufficient and the mystery around an offensive outfit worn by Woman Climber has no payoff. In its story it consists of shades of Henry Fielding’s Bildungsroman, Tom Jones, which was just lately adapted into the musical What is New Pussycat? but that display was considerably extra efficient in its comic revelations, twists and pacing.
Continue to, there is enjoyable and fantastic performing together the way and as Bartlett instructs, it is all joyfully silly stuff.
