There’s nothing like tobacco, apparently, or so the audience is informed by Sganarelle (David Furlong), the long-standing and long-suffering servant to Don Juan (Peter Rae), singing its praises in ways that wouldn’t be allowed on television or radio these days. Later, he makes a meal out of a snack – an audience member is given first refusal on it, before it is savoured with hyperbole. The story as a whole remains remarkably relatable: here is a seventeenth-century arrogant man, Don Juan, who treats women as objects, not listening to the advice of his friends and family to stop being so selfish and uncaring. What’s changed?
There are many elements in this production that are recognisable as Molière’s version of the life and times of Don Juan, and none of the alterations and deviations from the widely-available script were regrettable. For instance, the final exclamation, “My wages! My wages!” is denied Sganarelle in this production, but this only serves to emphasise his despair at the downfall of his master rather than his anger at not being paid (either his monetary salary or the courtesy that should have been given to him by Don Juan). Quite how Don Juan gets his comeuppance is also different from how it is usually rendered.
The general moral of the story was for a previous generation, one more accepting of organised religion – that is, that one should not seek to live a ‘sinful’ lifestyle only to solicit a deathbed conversion to the Christian faith in order to gain entry to Heaven. This Don Juan is, presumably deliberately, quite unlikeable and distasteful, but he has powers of persuasion that keep people coming back for more, so much so that in Act Four (of five) his at-home dinner is repeatedly delayed as character after character pays him a visit. Perhaps ‘hell’ is other people.
If necks in the front rows were craning at the high stage, there was yet more craning to be done as the balcony was used, albeit sparingly. The characters also had a habit of leaving the stage altogether and saying lines from the aisles, which made me wonder if the seating could have been reconfigured to be an in-the-round production. The amplified music drowned out some of the unamplified dialogue, at least from my vantage point.
This is one of those productions that embraces a number of key elements that come together in such a way that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It’s not quite ‘Commedia dell’Arte’, inasmuch as the drama is not improvised, but the masks are there, as are the lively characters.
Charlotte (Benoit Gouttenoire) comes with a face mask so large her speech is substantially muffled, and there is more than one point in the proceedings at which no words are exchanged at all. The physical theatre elements were pleasing to the eye, and while I didn’t personally care much for the slow-motion movements, they were well executed, and provided some added humour in their own way.
There are some modern parallels with the events portrayed – it’s no wonder the play has been so often performed over the centuries. Don Juan’s false conversion to religion in order to satisfy those pleading with him to behave with more civility is, for example, ultimately no different to certain parents these days who attend church services and receive the Holy Communion but without any genuine piety – their sole intent is getting their offspring into a well-regarded church school. Very much an ensemble piece of theatre, this is a vigorous and vibrant production.
Review by Chris Omaweng
Charming… egocentric… atheist… philanderer… recently wed, Don Juan is about to commit adultery against his new wife. Accompanied by his servant, Sganarelle, he sets out in pursuit of his next amorous conquest. Sganarelle challenges his master’s libertine views as the pair engages in a hilarious philosophical debate to defend their equally self-serving moralities. Don Juan… remorseless, unrepentant… has a voracious libido. Sganarelle… clever, pious but ambitious.
Set against the backdrop of the Venice Carnival, DON JUAN is a black comedy that follows the last day of the legendary playboy’s life.
Cast
Peter Rae (Don Juan)
David Furlong (Sgannarelle)
Emmanuela Lia (Elvira)
Benoît Gouttenoire (Gusman/Charlotte/The Beggar/Don Alonse)
Samuel Lawrence (Pierrot/Mathurine,/Don Carlos / Don Luis)
Signe Preston (Illusion of Love)
Team
Anastasia Revi (Director)
Brett Bodemer (Translator)
Valentina Sanna (Designer)
Umberto Fiorilla (Wigs and Hair)
Martina Reynolds (Production)
Hoxton Hall, 130 Hoxton Street, London, N1 6SH
25 April- 12 May 2018 7.45pm
