The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary

Review for the Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary.

How do you turn one of literature’s greatest tragedies into a raucous comedy?

Author Gustave Flaubert faced an obscenity trial in France after the book’s publication in 1856, and that’s probably due as much for the story’s then shocking plot; that of a woman in a loveless marriage has affairs in order to find the romance she’s long missed. Flaubert made the reader feel all of Emma Bovary’s pleasure, pain and anguish, its themes, include the subjugation and helplessness of women in a patriarchal society.

It doesn’t sound like much of a comedy, does it?

Don’t worry; acted out by a cast of just six extremely talented actors, Georgia Firth, Dave Partington, Andrea Jones, Harry Johnson, Frances Hamer and Dave Rogerson and not to forget Toby Aukland-Lewis, who incidentally played 21 characters between them, all under the inspirational direction of Yvette Owen, this is one of the funniest shows you are likely to see this year.

We hear the sound of horses hooves the Caretaker (Toby Aukland-Lewis) placed slightly offstage provides sound effects, love the horse David Wilson. The show opens with a pair of rat catchers (comically played by Andrea Jones and Dave Rogerson) who come to Emma’s rural French village on their horse drawn cart to do their work… except they don’t have any arsenic to kill the rats; instead, the rat catchers are armed with multiple types of cheese to catch the rats. This plays off clichés about the French and their love of cheese; they decide to purchase all the arsenic they can from the pharmacy (Frances Hamer & Harry Johnson) in the village.

A few minutes into AHTC production of The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary, the actors stop the action to discuss with the audience their understanding of the play; asking them to raise their hands if they’d read the book. I raised mine, but I only saw one other person do so. This was hilarious.

This running commentary on what they’re doing continues as the play goes on and very effectively establishes a strong rapport with the audience.

Madame Bovary is often considered the greatest novel ever written, but as you may have gathered from that word ‘massive’ in the title; this is an adaptation that doesn’t take Gustave Flaubert’s 19th century tale of thwarted romantic yearning entirely seriously. Its creators the British Theatre ensemble Peepolykus (pronounced people like us) has given us a deliciously playful, irreverent stage adaptation.

 

Emma (Georgia Firth) is a country girl with big dreams that are fed by the romantic novels she reads. She wants to escape her provincial life for the excitement of Paris and more than anything she wants to experience passion.

She thinks she has found it when she meets and falls in love with a young widowed doctor, Charles Bovary, ( imaginatively played James Partington); but their wedding night foreplay begins with him neatly folding his clothes and cleaning his teeth rather than ripping his wife’s gown from her body and disillusionment soon sets in.

She has affairs. Both her lovers (brilliantly played by Harry Johnson) find her too emotionally demanding, she gets into debt, seduced by the luxuries offered by a crafty merchant (Dave Rogerson) who profits by charging exorbitant rates of interest, when it all gets too much, arsenic seems the only answer.

 Flaubert’s heroine eventually kills herself by swallowing arsenic. This is not giving anything away because early in the performance the actors break out of character, play ‘themselves’ and tell the audience they’re thinking of changing the ending.

Georgia Firth vividly captures Emma Bovary’s frustration with her life, which has seen her exchange one domestic prison (we first see her living with her father) for another. Maintaining poise and control throughout an exhausting performance that demands total commitment. When we reach Emma Bovary’s final crisis the actors stop the knockabout humour and play it straight for five minutes or so. The effect is surprisingly moving.

This was a truly accomplished performance Georgia many congratulations.

 

This was great comedy which is both verbal and physical. The seduction scene that’s accompanied by a large sign saying CENSORED is sheer genius, a prolonged enthusiastic round of applause from the audience showed their appreciation:  Well done. An appropriate set, the props were fantastic and I loved the dressing of the pharmacy with the potions, etc. The attention to detail on the quick changing costumes was excellent. Thanks go to Andy Walker, Lisa Thomas, Tina Wyatt, Pam Holland, Ian David and Yvette Owen. Just an observation, Yvette, for the future, the lighting on occasions was a little late coming in. To add to the craziness a dinosaur arrives played by Francis Hamer: who knew!!

 

My admiration goes to the Agricultural Show; the animal head wear was just fabulous, the bleating sheep was my favourite, well done Andrea Jones, Toby Aukland-Lewis and Dave Rogerson.

 

I have to thank all concerned in this unique production; congratulations to all six actors who put everything into their performances. There are two performances I would like to mention

That is Georgia Firth and Harry Johnson, two truly memorable performances.

Thank you for a splendid evening’s entertainment.

 

 

Joanne Rymer

NODA

11/9/21

 

 

 

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