Eighteen hundreds fun for the family with ye olden speech and huge moving dogs, directed by Lucy Pitman-Wallace. Well laid out on a beautifully painted set, love, calamity and farce, a secret romance and a jolly trickster show the truth of a reserved lord who looks for marriage with a pretty barmaid. When a carriage goes astray and an ancient match maker gets the soaking she deserves is the love of a young ladies life worth more than jewels that are rightfully hers? With on stage sound effects including string orchestra and gigantic livestock this show will have you laughing all night. Will the ending be happy? You know the answer from the beginning, but the twisting plotline keeps you guessing, what will happen next? Well produced, actors comedic and entertaining. Liked it a lot. Five stars.
Joe Daunt,
HighfieldsSchool, Derbyshire
The stage at the Nottingham Playhouse is privileged to host Oliver Goldsmith’s hilarious light comedy ‘She Stoops to Conquer’ from the 3rd – 18th September, directed by Lucy Pitman-Wallace.
This enjoyable and light hearted play is set at Hardcastle Hall in 1773, telling the tale of Tony Lumpkin’s practical joke and the consequences it has on the rest of his friends and family.
Even though it is set in the 18th century the production has many modern day clichés that are around today, thus making it fun for all the family.
The set and costumes had a very pantomime feel to them. The characters were dressed in very colourful clothing complementing with the very cartoon likeset. Pitman-Wallace compared the set to ‘Toy Theatre’ meaning that the actors themselves made visible sound effects and set changes. The playing of musical instruments on stage added to the overall mise – on – scene of the piece. In some cases the actors humoured themselves as well as over acted in some areas, adding to the comedy.
Overall it was a tremendous performance and I recommend to anyone of any age to go and see it if they are looking for an evening of laughter.
Lizzy Whynes, BilboroughCollege
‘She Stoops to Conquer’- a true comedy of errors, exhibited at its finest by Lucy Pitman-Wallace at the Nottingham Playhouse! The set (consisting of large two dimensional cattle) positioned before a back drop of an animated country scene featuring a small house really puts into perspective the ridiculous, outlandish style of the piece and this combined with the pantomime like approach to the acting formulates a greatly entertaining piece of theatre. The lead female Kate Hardcastle (played by Ellie Bevan) is perfectly sublime, achieving the correct degree of ridiculousness required to allow the audience to suspend their disbelief whilst justifying the comedic edge to the character and portraying the character’s alternating between her aristocratic self and the maid she poses to be without causing confusion. The scenes between herself and Mr Marlow (Edmund Kingsley) epitomise comedy, Kingsley embraces Marlow’s reserved manner yet when required shifts to the confident, improper ‘gentleman’ when alone with Kate Hardcastle’s alter ego.
The performance contained live music which contributed to the authentic Georgian feel to the performance, aside from the modern theatre the audience felt as though they had been transported back 250 years to view a genuine Georgian cast perform the very same play. All sound effects and music were performed live by the cast, Chris Nayak as Mr Ludlow performed a lively rendition of a typical English pub song and several of the characters adopted the cries of the resident farm animals, a pig, horse and a memorable ‘mooing’ of a cow, the director also employed the use of unlikely props to create the sounds of a storm, a sheet of plastic to emulate thunder and a shaker to sound like the rain.
Overall an exceptionally funny play, surprisingly easy to follow despite the intact 18th century language and complicated story line and aside from issues with accent consistency, a very polished performance in all ways and a perfect family night out!
Shannon Anstee, BilboroughCollege
Never having seen or come across this play before besides hearing a brief synopsis, I was initially slightly worried that it would all be too confusing for me to understand, what with the multiple deceptions and practical jokes on which the plot revolves. However, I didn’t feel on seeing the play that this was an issue at all. It was clearly acted, with each character played in an individual way which brought out amusing characteristics.
Although a fairly long play, the quality of direction and acting meant that, overall, it remained thoroughly interesting and enjoyable. The humour was acted to what I considered an extremely high standard throughout, and on several occasions had me in fits of laughter. The storyline, when being witnessed rather than explained, is not difficult to follow, as the characters are played to such a quality that it is easy to understand their motives, even if there are some moments which almost make the audience want to shout at the characters. For me, this is testament to the skill of both the acting and also the directing; the audience are made to feel involved in the action. This was intensified by the decision to make asides by the characters to the audience pronounced. I really liked this technique, as it intensified the audience’s connection with the characters, making the play much more interesting and involving.
The set was designed in a colourful, imaginative way which is almost reminiscent of the set for a pantomime at the Playhouse. These bright colours, which were also used in the costumes worn by the characters, also intensified the audience’s interest as they heightened the sense of fun and humour of the play. The lighting was also effective, as it also emphasised the lightness of the story.
Overall, I felt the piece was well acted and well directed. It provided a fun night out, and was highly entertaining. I would most definitely recommend it to anyone who appreciates good humour.
Holly Morrall, NottinghamHigh School for Girls