THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
By Peter Shaffer
Orange Tree Theatre, 1 Clarence Street, Richmond, TW9 2SA until July 11, 2026
It appears Peter Shaffer is back in fashion; such are the vagaries of theatrical taste. There’s an excellent revival of Equus starring Toby Stephens at the Menier and soon Michael Sheen will arrive with a new production of Amadeus, which of course has also been lavishly remade recently for TV.
This 1964 one act farce, just 1 hour 15 minutes, has come to be considered one of his best and for me trumps his big hits with all their high mindedness.
Young sculptor Brindsley Miller (Joe Bannister) is on the brink of success. He is expecting a visit from an influential art collector, whose approval could secure his future, and he is determined to present himself as sophisticated and successful. The problem? His flat is sparsely furnished, so he has borrowed most of the contents, without permission, from his neighbor who then of course returns early. However a sudden power cut plunges them all into darkness, and Brindsley senses an opportunity.
The great theatrical device here is that the audience begins in total black out and when the fuse blows and the characters are pitched into darkness and the audience into light. So we’re watching them fumbling in the dark, and in the intimate setting of the Orange Tree this is even more effective as cast members really get up close while being apparently oblivious.
The cleverness of the conceit is never arch though and soon the audience is in stitches watching the hapless Brindsley extricate himself from complex web he has weaved. It is very much of its period and in the mold of classic sex farces, being peopled with such archetypes as the whiny/spoilt girlfriend Carol (Leah Haile) and her father, the pompous, fulminating Colonel Melkett (Jason Barnett in great form), Then there’s the timid spinster Miss Furnival (Julia Hills), whose teetotalling and high moral tone you know won’t survive the evening. The ensemble is superb, but you almost expect British farce stalwarts Donald Sinden or Windsor Davies to appear at any moment.
Simon Manyonda’s take on the fastidious, obviously gay, neighbor Harold Gorringe plays up the latter attribute and it’s interesting to note that this was an early representation of a queer man in British theater, still before decriminalization and the end of censorship. His scream when his antique Buddha is smashed is like that of a dying banshee.
For chunks of the play the dialogue is rather superfluous, as characters witter on; the fun is in the silent chaos all around them. What makes it all a cut above the average boulevard farce is the sheer brilliance of the slapstick comedy and how the extreme exertions of the characters reveal deeper truths about their delusions and hypocrisies.
Director Caroline Steinbeis (who did the brilliant Three Sisters at the Globe) ratchets up the tension and never lets it flag. Physical comedy consultant John Nicholson (a definite requirement here) does absolute wonders as the timing of the physical interactions has to be spot on. We watch wide eyed, for example, as Brindsley tries to replace all the furniture in the room without anyone noticing, ending up with him between people’s legs or tied up in a phone cord or crawling down a banister.
Things hot up with the arrival into the chaos of Clea, a jealous ex-girlfriend. Patricia Allison has great fun with the part of this poised and confident woman, originally created by Maggie Smith. There’s also fun with the mistaken identity of a befuddled London Electricity Board man.
This is a play that requires from its cast the physical stamina of musical theater, and here it gets a pitch perfect production. Simon Daw’s designs smartly evoke the period, drinks trolley and all, and this adds up to a great tonic.
