Laughing across the centuries

Even as tropical storm Gaemi is about to hit, it appears that Bangkokians won’t have to evacuate their houses this year — at least not yet. And so, there’s time for enjoyment and laughter with Bangkok Community Theatre’s (BCT) last production of the year “The Country Wife”.

British expat director Severin Herbert, whose productions tender to linger in the memory, says it’s a play he studied many years ago and also taught to his students. 

“I’m quite a fan of Restoration comedy anyway and had never actually directed one, so I thought that I would challenge myself with ‘The Country Wife’.”

A challenge it certainly is, as this dramatic masterpiece by William Wycherley is not only three and a half centuries old but also a farce—more fun to watch than to stage and to perform in.

Herbert admits that it is indeed “very tough” and reveals his secret of staging farce, “Pace, pace, pace. You have to balance the pace of the comedic stage action with clearly delivering the narrative and the satirical one-liners [of which Wycherley was one of the originators and masters] for the audience.”

As for the time issue, he finds parallels between what happened in the play and what is taking place now around the world, not only in Thailand. The show’s tagline reads, “If you think Bangkok's nightlife is racy and raucous, just see what 17th-century London had to offer!”

He explains, “The play highlights the hypocrisy of those in the society who are obsessed with the surface rather than the substance – politicians, celebrities, religious leaders and so forth. I chose to do the play when the flooding hit my school [Harrow International] and the houses of my friends and myself. On TV every night, I watched hand-wringing politicians blaming each other for the disaster, individuals using it to raise their own profiles and aid stations manned by celebrities who just happened to be there as the cameras arrived.”

“I found the whole thing quite sickening—especially when these same people are, six months later, taking moral stances on TV defending their non paying of taxes or being caught watching porn. It was a toss up between ‘The Country Wife’ and a play called ‘Yes, Prime Minister’ — about political play acting and I chose the former. The play also deals with issues of marriage and affairs and flings – something else which I suppose is also pretty relevant in Thailand.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Despite setting it in 17th-century London, Herbert says, “The performance has many modern parallels in it, including references to modern music, which seems to reduce sex to a very cold pastime and will be performed in a quite unconventional way.”

Leading the cast of 15 actors are James Laver as Mr Horner who starts the rumour that he’s impotent from a sexually transmitted disease he got from France — there’s always something between these two countries — so that he can mingle freely with the ladies. Stephanie Wallis, seen in many BCT productions, portrays Lady Fidget, whose husband Sir Jasper, another BCT veteran Michael Allman, enjoys her being around Mr Homer. In the title role is Nic Frances as Mrs Pinchwife, who is lured by the capital city’s vices while her husband, Jonathan Truslow (Prof Higgins in BCT’s “Pygmalion”), tries his best to keep her clean. 

 

Tickets to laugh

- “The Country Wife” is from Wednesday to October 13, 8pm, at the British Club in Silom Soi 18 (10-minute walk from BTS Chong Nonsi). Tickets are Bt800, available at the Neilson Hays Library Cafe on Surawong Road, or by emailing [email protected] or calling (081) 937 3600. Visit www.BCT-TH.org and “Bangkok Community Theatre” facebook for more details.