She Stoops to Conquer

Generally this is considered a comedy of manners, in which, in a polite society setting, the comedy arises from the gap between the characters' attempts to preserve standards of polite behaviour, that contrasts to their true behaviour.. The alternative title of “Mistakes of the Night “ illustrates that the Unity of Time is carefully observed.  With all of the events occurring in a single night, the plot becomes more stimulating as well as lending more plausibility to the series of unlucky coincidences that conspire against the visitors.

The story revolves around a rich vein of characters  who between them create tricks and mischief or are in some instances the  victims of them.:

Mr Hardcastle  (Les Ebrell)  a “country gentleman” who loves "everything old" and hates the town and the "follies" that come with it. He is very much occupied with the 'old times' and likes nothing better than to tell his war stories and to drop names, such as the Duke of Marlborough, At first I though his playing a little stilted  but on reflection he carried off the part exactly as it was intended.

Miss Kate Hardcastle (Katy Ashton) Daughter to Mr. Hardcastle, and the play's eponymous heroine “who stoops to conquer”.  Beautifully played  able to carry off the dutiful daughter  as well as by disguise in posing as a maid  she deceives Marlow her would be suitor causing him to fall in love with her. An excellent portrayal of the character.

Mrs Hardcastle (Vivienne Sebastian) eccentric character. She is an over-protective mother to her son  but fails to tell him he's of age so that he is eligible to receive £1,500 a year. Her behaviour is either over-the-top or far-fetched, providing some of the play's comedy.  Very much in the style of one of TV  most famous comedy ladies this was a lovely performance.

Tony Lumpkin (Lee Crosbie)   Son of Mrs Hardcastle and stepson to Mr Hardcastle, Tony is a mischievous, uneducated playboy who is the catalyst of the misunderstandings which provide us with the plot.  Lee looked the part ands captured the essence of someone who is a victim of his mother’s scheming but is always looking for a way out.

Charles Marlow (Mark Latham) our hero who falls victim to a Lumpkins practical joke resulting in him treating his prospective father-in-law as an inn keeper and falling for  Kate’s deception when she discovers  he is somewhat of a bumbling fool when dealing with Upper class ladies. and  not the sophisticated man of the world she has been led to believe.. He dealt with the two conflicting aspects of the character. In fine style

 George Hastings (Joe Platt)  Friend of Charles Marlow and the admirer of Miss Constance Neville Who is Mrs Hardcastle’s niece. Their friendship provides us with the subplot as they conspire to elope and frustrate her aunt’s  plan to marry Constance to  her own son. Very well played indeed.

Miss Constance Neville (Holly Skelton) she is heir to a large fortune of jewels, hence her aunt wants her to remain in the family and marry Tony;. Love triumphs and  Constance and Hastings find happiness together. Holly was just right for this part catching the mood of the situation  and the interplay between herself and Hastings

Adding  to the main players were Brian Dickson  (Sir Charles Marlow) ‘Paul Cartlidge playing the Landlord / Jeremy, Stephen Higgins as Muggins,/ Roger , Gareth Griffiths as Elgin/Diggory  and Stephanie Clark,who gave a charming cameo as Pimple; all made their contribution in support of the main characters.

I enjoyed the play  which embodied some fine performances from an excellent cast complmented by a  Strong production team headed by Directors Graham Breckon and Julie Nicholas. Well done to all concerned.

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