Words, words, words. I was brought up with a deep appreciation for the beauty of the English language and a love of words. Words can paint pictures and ex-press emotions and tell imaginative stories, especially the wonderful words of Shakespeare.
I am actively involved with the English Speaking Union's efforts to keep his words alive through education and local high school Shakespeare competitions. Over the years, I have come to appreciate the work of the Seattle Shakespeare Company, Washington state's only year-round professional theater dedicated to producing the work of William Shakespeare and other classic playwrights. The company's growing success stems from a deep belief in the power and vibrancy of Shakespeare's words and ideas along with a commitment to artistic excellence on the stage. The results have been provocative performances that both challenge and delight audiences while fostering an appreciation for the greatest playwright the world has ever known.
Last Thursday evening I attended Seattle Shakespeare Company's excellent production of Sheridan's "The School for Scandal," accompanied by a dedicated anglophile who greatly appreciates English dialogue, though sometimes finds the high-speak English verbiage hard to follow. Not so this time. The perfect diction and timing of seasoned actors made the flowery language and Sheridan's complicated plot easy to understand. All delivered in precise English accents with just the right amount of exaggeration and perfect timing! Here's what Stephanie Shine, artistic director, had to say:
My reasons for producing this play are many:
I have never seen this play performed. That's after decades of constant theater-going. If I haven't seen it, perhaps you may not have seen it either.
It's difficult, a real challenge to the actors and director - layered, dense and delicate. This company loves an artistic challenge, and we need them to continue growing.
I love the wake-up call it gives us about the danger of words when they are negatively directed. Many of you know how dearly I believe in the restorative power of words. I haven't really been ready to explore this darker side of society. I don't like it, yet I think that it is good to be reminded, blatantly, of these situations. Always, the classic play lets us experience present situations from the safe distance of a century (or four).
This play is very funny, and the language is so rich you can almost taste it; it's frothy like a fine meringue, and demands as precise a delivery as the quiet demanded by a soufflé in the oven.
Sheridan was Irish. I get a kick out of producing famous "English Plays" written by Irishmen.
Thank you for taking a chance on "The School for Scandal." It's been a jewel in the classic repertoire since its debut in 1777. Two-hundred-thirty years later, how grand it is that we are together living this treasure, enjoying its folly and recognizing its potency.
Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816) was born in Dublin the son of an Irish actor-manager and Mrs. F. Sheridan, a novelist. Richard learned early that as a livelihood the theater was both precarious and ungentlemanly. He was sent to Harrow School, where he was unhappy and regarded as a dunce. In Bath, however, where he joined his family in 1770, he was at once at home.
A skit written for the local paper on the opening of the New Assembly Rooms was considered good enough to be published as a separate pamphlet. Very short of money, he decided to try his hand at a play, and in a very few weeks wrote "The Rivals," which was produced at Covent Garden in 1775. Its great success established Sheridan in the fashionable society he sought.
"The School for Scandal," with a brilliant cast, was universally acclaimed, and all doors, from those of the duchess of Devonshire and Lady Melbourne downwards, were open to the dramatist - whose personal expenses rose accordingly.
Sheridan entered Parliament in 1780, and his parliamentary career was notable for his eloquent speeches made in opposition to the war against the American colonies. He became an intimate friend of the Prince of Wales (later George IV). Sheridan died in July 1816 and was given a fine funeral, with four lords as pallbearers. He wished to be remembered as a man of politics and to be buried next to Fox, but he was laid near Garrick in the Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey instead. He is remembered chiefly as the author of two superb comedies, but his speeches and letters have also been published.
Sheridan's work is thought to represent the finest development of the artificial comedy of manners in 18th-century England. His two major trademarks were his incisively exaggerated characters and amusing twists of plot. From the name of a humorous character, Mrs. Malaprop, in "The Rivals" derives the widely used term malapropism, meaning the absurd misapplication of long words.
"The School for Scandal," considered his masterpiece, is a series of gossipy but polished, fast-paced scenes exposing the foibles of fashionable society. The play is a witty satirical comment on 18th-century English upper-crust society.
Sir Peter Teazle, a wealthy, middle-aged bachelor, marries a young country girl who joins a clique of gossiping socialites led by Lady Sneerwell and her devious associates, Snake and Joseph Surface. Lady Sneer-well attempts, through lies and letters, to break up a love affair in order to secure the young suitor, Charles Surface, for herself. Their schemes are foiled when Sir Peter discovers the truth about his wife and the manipulations of the fork-tongued characters turn out to bite them in the end.
The cast features Stephanie Shine as Lady Sneerwell, Betsy Schwartz as Lady Teazle, Karen Nelsen as Mrs. Candour and Ellory Hartnett as Maria. Peter Jacobs played Sir Peter Teazle; Timothy Hyland, Rowley; Charles Leggett, Sir Oliver Surface; John Bogar, Joseph Surface; and MJ Sieber, Charles Surface.
The scenic designer was Albert Clementi; the costume designer, Heidi Ganser. In all, an excellent and thoroughly enjoyable production in the true English Restoration Comedy tradition. Congratulations. Jolly good show!
"The School for Scandal" runs Thursday through Sunday until July 1. Contact seattleshakespeare. org for more information, or call 733-8333 for tickets.
NEWS YOU CAN USE:
■ The sets for "School for Scandal" included six beautiful Sheraton chairs to add the flavor of the period. Thomas Sheraton (no relation to the dramatist) was a famous Georgian furniture designer who published books of design. His work is greatly prized by antique collectors. Coincidentally, he was born the same year as the playwright, 1751.
■ The Seattle Shakespeare Company announced it will present the West Coast première of Patrick Page's "Swansong" as part of the theater's 2007-08 season. "Swansong," an imaginative account of the friendship and rivalry between William Shakespeare and poet-playwright Ben Jonson, will run in repertory Jan 6-23, 2008, with the previously announced "Chamber Julius Caesar."
TTFN.
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