As you enter the Southwark Playhouse, the rats run for the floor, the dust sits on stage, the abused windows need a color, gives the 19th -century French novel (not the misérable). Two rats conquerors enter a horse, sent to the provincial town of Yonville. There they happen to Mrs. Emma Bovary, and as they say, the rest is Madame Bovary written in 1857 by Gustave Flaubert. That’s what they say, right?
The Mass Tragedy of Madame Bovary It is one of the Christmas offers of Southwark Playhouse this season, since the adaptation of John Nicholson’s Flaubert novel was originally based on Jermyn Street in 2022. Romanticism, heart, deception, debt and all the dirty things in life, of course, a tragic end.
With a fourth wall break right at the top of the game we come across my cast of multiple rollers, as the dim doctor Charles Bovary, Darren Seed gives a crack of comic performance across the area. It is placed in the pharmacy, chased by curators who seek to regain the debt stacked by his wife Emma Bovary, the title played by Georgia Nicholson. By conveying the dramatic weight of this adaptation, it is sharp razor and gives a wonderful depth to the lady. As the beloved is, Emma Bovary feels very little about Charles and has spent years chasing true romance, mainly in the form of a pleasant Leon, performed by Spriter Ben Kernow. Finally he is Stephen Cavanagh as … well everyone else. With a tool zone essentially any pronunciation in Ireland and the United Kingdom is often the comic highlight.
The four Madcap artists are unfortunately frustrated by their script, John Nicholson’s adaptation is trying to turn this desperate tragic story into a comedy, to different degrees of success. It has its moments, especially the closure of the first half is to show theft (so much so that the actors even recreate the scene for fun at the top of the second half). Ben Kernow’s Rodolphe jumps around the stage, the flowers appear from nowhere, the shooters explode, the ribbon streams fly, the fire explodes by his hand, is right. But then many of the remaining comedies struggle to land, often based on strange voices or nonsense and not on genuine gags. If the basic story is not funny, then how else can you get comedy?
Marion Harrison’s design seems to have been torn directly by the walls of a small French village: worn wooden panels, abused windows and generally dirty. A series of hatches make for a fun peek-a-boo game, you are never sure what piece piece or supports will be behind the window when it then opens. Sometimes a pharmacy cabinet, a gramophone, a bar, a kitchen, keeps the game struggling well. Dan Bottomley’s audio design is charming, accordion and snakes create a charming atmosphere, making you want to drink a small glass of brandy and go to a Can-Can show. I was excited to see live instruments at the beginning of the game, but they unfortunately never come back again, instead of using only pre-recorded music.
John Nicholson’s scenario emphasizes Emma Bovary’s much -needed feminist review, but the comedy whiplash tone of feminist criticism at the heart of Drama leaves all that a little flat, never completely say anything. This was particularly noticeable in the final sequence, a beautifully surrendered monologue by Georgia Nicholson ran to the constant murder of our tragic heroes: Emma Bovary, Cleopatra, Hedda Gabler, Anna Karenina, Oplia, Antigone, but in their deaths we remember them. And then before everything gets very serious, the game jumps back to comedy.
It’s a crazy adaptation of the classic 19th -century novel and don’t worry if you’ve never read it, but be careful if you pretend to look smarter. While the script has its flaws, it is well worth a watch for the top four comic performances and a great Christmas choice for those who are already a little panto-ed.
The Mass Tragedy of Madame Bovary Playing at Southwark Playhouse until January 5th.
