I
went to see Wild Oats by John O’Keefe at Bristol Old Vic last night (17
September 2012). It was a real treat to be back in the Old Vic after its
refurbishment. It now has a “pit” instead of stalls, but the seats are new and
much more comfortable than the old ones, and in place of the dusty carpet there's an
oak floor. The painted and gilded theatre looks lovely, and the names of many
great actors and playwrights lettered on the walls – Cibber, Vanbrugh, Shakespeare,
Steele – evokes its great heritage. The design is based on the eighteenth-century
configuration of the theatre – balconies, colours, stage – but is fully modern
too. So its inaugural production is a modern reworking of the 1791 play by John
O’Keefe.
Wild Oats was written by Irish playwright John
O’Keefe (1747 – 1833). Originally an artist, O’Keefe became a writer when his
eye sight began to fail. He was blind by 1781. He left Ireland and his
unfaithful wife in 1781, and during his writing career produced farces,
pantomimes and comic operas.
Wild Oats is a beautifully plotted comedy which
manages to bring together so many different strands to great comic effect: deserting
sailors, a lady-turned-Quaker who lets her hair down when she falls in love, a
missing husband and mislaid son, a selfish yeoman hounding an impoverished clergyman
into debt, disguises, a play within a play, plenty of Shakespeare. It’s
wonderful to see how these all come together in the last scene in the classic happy
ending.
The play has been updated to the 1950s – so the
programme tells us, but I have to confess that without that clue I wouldn’t have
known that it was set in any particular time. In fact, I found the setting
distracting at the start, in particular the opening motorcycle chase. Noisy and
slapsticky, it seemed to bear little relation to the rest of the play, and I
couldn’t see how the 1950s fitted at all with the drama. Again, the programme
tells us that it was inspired by the “bleak world of 1950s touring theatre”.
Even so, it wasn’t until things got going towards
the middle of the first act that I was able to forget about the setting and
enjoy the exuberance, energy, and enthusiasm of the performers. Sam Alexander
gave us a lovely Jack Rover, whose basic decency and passion for Shakespeare and
the theatre really came alive, and Hugh Skinner a wonderfully weepy Harry
Thunder. Jo Herbert’s Lady Amaranth was endearing, and Emily May Smith a
suitably cheeky maid servant. Though it seems unfair to pick out individual
actors – I thought they were all
wonderful and played really well together! A lovely play and it’s wonderful to
have our Old Vic back.
Wild Oats by John O’Keefe is on at Bristol Old Vic
4 September to 20 October 2012. For details see http://www.bristololdvic.org.uk/wildoats.html
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