The Way of the World, by William Congreve
Victorian College of
the Arts, School of Drama, until Sep 6, 1997
Reviewed by Kate Herbert around 25 Aug, 1997
After Charles II
returned from France post-Cromwell, London was one big party. The latter part
of the 17th century heralded a new era in entertainment during which theatres
were reopened and plays became bawdy and satirical again and women performed.
Audience members could sit on stage and wreak havoc:
heckling, smooching with their paramours and tossing tomatoes. Some even
participated extemporaneously.
The VCA production of William Congreve's The Way of the
World, directed by Robert Draffin, designed by Libby O'Brien, draws on these
conventions but cunningly blends 17th Restoration Comedy and 20th century
styles.
Congreve's characters are named for their follies. Lady
Wishfor't (Rachael Tidd) plays the adolescent coquette at fifty and wishes for
love. Her niece Millamant, or 'thousand lovers' (Miria Kostiuk) tantalises her
retinue of lovers while Petulant is sullen and silent and Witwoud (Oscar
Reding) a foppish wit.
The audience surrounds the performing space and is invited
to dance to the live band prior to the show and is served champagne between
acts. One witty inclusion is Petulant being a ventriloquist doll.
The ensemble of graduating students tackles a difficult
period piece with relish under Draffin's capable direction. Some of the men
just missıng the raw comic potential in the characters but the women are
particularly strong.
Tidd is the highlight in a gem of a portrayal of Lady
Wishfor't that is like Joanna Lumley meets Lady Diana. Kostiuk has
'Va-Va-Va-Voom!' as Millamant and Sophie Gregg prowls like as cat as Mrs.
Fainall. Justin Smith is a great comic presence as the yokel nephew, Wilfull,
and in a cameo as the maidservant Mrs. Mincing.
Draffin has injected a couple of modern songs into this Club
Lounge environment that reeks of gaming dens and the superficial, delusory
glamour of nearby Crown Casino. Actors engage directly with the audience in a
way that was a convention of the period.
The world of the Restoration was decadent. England reacted
like naughty children to its newfound freedom and the Restoration comedies
revel in the conflict between intellect and desire. Congreve's Comedy of
Manners deals with adultery, cuckoldry and plays with deception and affectation
in his characters.
All present a false self to the world and are revealed to be
duplicitous either for gain or as protection against their sneering
aristocratic 'friends'.
Kate Herbert
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