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December 6 2010 Exeposé
Arts
theatre review The Madness of George III @ Northcott Theatre November 27
MY knowledge of the Regency crisis is fairly limited, so I found myself unconsciously expecting the Northcott production of The Madness of George III to resemble an episode of Blackadder. But from the opening chime of bells and a slightly off-key rendition of ‘God Save the King’ to a wonderfully melodramatic close, the production screamed patriotism. Even the humour was beautifully British, particularly due to the ludicrous ideas of medicine: “Your obsession with stool, Dr Baker, has been the most tedious feature of this disease.” The costumes were excellent, with the wigs initially resembling a mound of shaving foam and becoming increasingly more ridiculous until eventually the physician entered wearing what appeared to be a large black cat on his head. The physicians were entertaining in their absurdity. Their attempts to cure the king by blistering, shaving and sweating him were summed up well by the line, “Apply all the cures. One of us will probably be right.” Rather as an invalid tends to laze around in their pyjamas, George (Si-
mon Ward) spent the majority of the play lying on the floor in an elaborate dressing gown, his initial “signs of illness” about as convincing as a truanting schoolboy. His gradual mental deterioration was chilling, although his insanity tended to take the form of Just a Minute in a continuous stream of random nonsense, considerably longer than 60 seconds. However, the Queen’s distress was beautifully portrayed, and a touching scene between the King and his favourite page brought some pathos to the production. PM William Pitt served as the cold voice of reason in the absurdity of the situation and the power struggle between him and Fox was intense, punctuated well by the King’s idiotic statements, “It never rains, I control the weather with my mental powers.”
cal disasters of the last few years were based on Alan Bennett’s play, and this allowed for some wonderfully direct comparisons which never ceased to amuse the audience. Pitt’s lament that with five more years in power he could have restored the country was shame-
lessly plagiarised by Gordon Brown, and frustration over the MP expenditures was clear in the line “Popular government’s nothing to do with thrift,” to which a politician quipped, “and not much to do with popularity either.”
Despite a happy ending, the overall theme of the play was one of political decay. The corruption of Fox was excellently portrayed, leaving me facing the sad truth that “Office makes Tories of us all.” HELEN CARRINGTON
“The political disasters of the last few years were based on Alan Bennett’s play, and this allowed for some wonderfully direct comparisons.” It almost seemed as if the politi-
Creative Writing Corner Were I in Love with Snow Jack Flanagan
Were I in love with snow Whose touch was cold And that crumbled under force Withered and wet upon my palm. No glory he’d pay to sun, From whose shimmering glimmer could be gazed A warmth unknown from this winter A spring, I’d forgotten with age. He, who froze the land beneath it And chocked the seedlings. Here: Were I in love with snow A coldness would upon me creep Until all tears of mine were froze, And no longer could I weep. Were I in Love With Snow, With that, it might be true, I’d forget the Summer I’d been And a Winter: all I knew.
comedy review Ardal O’Hanlon @ Northcott Theatre October 31 ARDAL O’Hanlon, star of My Hero and Father Ted, presented his new stand-up at the Northcott Theatre on October 31 2010. During the show, he laughed at the UK’s mounting misfortunes, such as the recession, bad weather and an inevitable doom, and then focused on day-to-day things, such as surviving relationships and raising children. With one-liners such as, “Fun and run should never be in the same sentence, that’s like saying, look at my humour tumour”, and a mix of comical stories, this show was full of variety and catered for everybody’s needs. O’Hanlon took to the stage in a smart suit and an open-necked shirt, which reflected the prestigious but casual atmosphere at the event. O’Hanlon certainly came across as a down-to-earth comedian, despite his celebrity status. Even before he came on stage, he showed his human side by joking that this was the first time he had played at the Northcott Theatre, and so he’d rather stay and do the show from behind the curtains. The audience was still tittering at his opening quips as he took to the stage, and it was a good start to the night. It was evident from the handpicked anecdotes that were chosen for the
show that O’Hanlon based his material on his adult years. One particularly funny story describes the time when his wife was in labour. He heard the midwife say “push!” and wanted to push the baby’s head back in again! These stories are not only immensely funny, but also reflect real life and engage the audience. O’Hanlon related well to students, weaving in studying jokes, and even directly ask-
ing a foreign student, “So do you work or study?” to which the student replied “I’m a graduate student”. Ardal then joked, “So you do neither, then,” and the audience fell into laughter. Oneliners like these, along with his stories, kept the show moving and interesting. This particular interaction also demonstrated O’Hanlon’s awareness of a particular audience and his fantastic ability to come up with spontaneous unprepared quips, which made the show seem very tailored to the Exeter audience. Nevertheless, there were still a few surprises. When O‘Hanlon was joking about his wife, one audience member called out, “So why aren‘t you wearing a ring?” This question stumped O’Hanlon, and certainly tested his improvisation skills. He recovered quickly by pretending to call his wife and then just told the truth – that he left it in his dressing room and the cleaner hoovered it up adding jokily, “Is that okay for you?” Only someone who had been on the comedy circuit for a number of years could have pulled off this sort of improvised recovery. All in all, with a mixture of stories, self-mockery, audience interaction and one-liners, O’Hanlon left the Northcott Theatre to a grand applause. SARAH HARDING