Educating Agnes
theatre babel
Educating Agnes, theatre babel’s re-imagining of Moliere’s classic farce The School for Wives, is an entertaining mixture of classic French farce and Scots banter.
The play is credited to Liz Lochhead, who indeed has written a beautiful script that mixes poetry with crudeness and Scots wordplay. However, the plot, characters and setting completely belong to Moliere’s original source.
"Moliere’s work
with Lochhead’s
writing talents
makes for a
happy marriage"
Moliere’s work with Lochhead's writing talents makes for a happy marriage, and results in a polished and tightly structured comedic script. There is something delicious about watching two French aristocrats speak in posh terms and, out of frustration, break into Scots profanity. Indeed, it’s a bit of a shame that Lochhead didn’t push a bit more Scots into this version as the Scottish flavour proved to be the production’s highlight.
The nonsensical story follows the exploits of Arnolphe, an aging man who’s paranoid at the prospect of being cuckolded by a new wife. His solution, to marry a young woman ignorant about the ways of life, leads to disaster when his intended falls for another, younger man. The play follows Arnolphe as he tries to woo the young Agnes while fending off his rival. As with most farces, the joy doesn’t come from the plot itself but from the outrageous situations created by the characters.
Kevin McMonagle is fantastic in the lead role. Having the play’s villain serve as the main character is risky: too much loathing will make the performance tedious, and too much sympathy will make the audience root for the wrong person. McMonagle strikes the perfect note, playing a character that’s pathetic enough to sympathise with but has a ruthless nature that allows the audience to enjoy laughing at his expense. The supporting cast are equally strong, serving as both victims and foils to Arnolphe’s plans.
Graham McLaren does an excellent job as both director and designer. The action is played before a large painted mural, a telling portrait that sums up the play’s nature before the first word is uttered. The staging is sharp and well balanced, allowing equal focus to the script’s word play and visual interpretation. The production never feels forced, even at its most frantic moments.
But the star is Liz Lochhead. The play bustles with colourful phrases and insults, at times feeling more poetic than dramatic, which can be a double-edged sword. While one is able to enjoy the language, there were times that the actors seemed more intent on vocalising the words than putting subtext to what they were saying. Emphasis was occasionally more on poetic meter or enunciation rather than character and communication.
Still, with its wonderful combination of French farce and Scots word play, Educating Agnes is a highly enjoyable night out that just misses the mark of greatness. Its mixture of Moliere’s original structure with modern interpretation should appeal to both newcomers to French farce and classicists.
Michael Cox
Until May 3 2008 at Citizens' Theatre, Glasgow. Tel: 0141 429 0022.
May 8-10 2008 at Perth Theatre. Tel: 0141 429 0022.
www.theatrebabel.co.uk
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What the papers said:
The Daily Telegraph:
"Director Graham McLaren has created a production full of pace, energy and smart timing"
The Guardian:
*** "In Lochhead's hands, the rhymes dance around this most wordy of comedies, fuelling it with energy, where others would drag it down"
The Herald:
*** "Never less than entertaining, and when it finds its rhythm there are some truly funny moments"
Metro:
**** "The pace of the text soon takes flight with Lochhead's mongrel Scots-French classic succeeding in providing both feminist bite and ribald humour"
The Scotsman:
"Only Anneika Rose's beautiful, touching and spirited performance as Agnes seems to transcend the restrictions of the staging, and burst into real theatrical life"
The Stage:
"Stilted in its direction and forced in its delivery, Theatre Babel’s new production fails to find the heart of Liz Lochhead’s translation"
Sunday Herald:
**** "This new script is a lyrical and comical joy... Kevin McMonagle's Arnolphe is nothing short of virtuoso comic acting"
The Times:
*** "Moments of pure bliss... McMonagle knows that to be truly funny you have to be absolutely serious"
Blog verdicts:
www.viewfromthestalls.co.uk:
"The show belongs to Kevin McMonagle as Arnolphe. It's a magical performance that always manages to stay just the right side of excess."
