Diana Carroll is an arts writer and reviewer - READ MORE HERE




FILM/STAGE- The Magistrate
National Theatre, London

DIANA CARROLL - Reviewer
INDAILY - 30.1.13

The National Theatre of London's production of The Magistrate is showing in cinemas across Australia this weekend as part of the NT Live series. Indaily reviewer Diana Carroll saw it on stage in London.

COULD you name the founder of British comedy? It's a moot point, but many scholars give credit to the 19th-century playwright Sir Arthur Wing Pinero. Of Pinero's many plays, only The Magistrate and The Second Mrs Tanqueray are part of today's stage repertoire.

Opening in November, and still playing to full houses, The Magistrate is the National Theatre's seasonal treat at its flagship venue in London's South Bank Centre. And what a five-star treat it is!

The Magistrate is a tightly scripted comedy of manners. It mixes Wildean social comment with elements of French farce and operatic conceits. There is, of course, a cautionary tale at the heart of the best stories. Here it is simple – little lies can get you into big trouble. The truths at the heart of The Magistrate are as relevant today as they were 150 years ago.

Agatha and Aeneas Posket are recently married and enjoying a blissful life in London society with her teenaged son Cis. During their brief courtship, the widowed Agatha lied about her age, telling Aeneas she was 31 and not 35. As a consequence, 19-year-old Cis is now supposedly only 14. This doesn't mean he has lost his appreciation for smoking, gambling, drinking port and pretty girls, especially his delightful piano teacher Beattie, for whom he is "swelling with admiration".

Agatha's "little lie" is about to be revealed when Major Lukyn, an old chum and godfather to Cis, comes to visit. And so the fun begins as Agatha sets out to embroil Lukyn in her plot; Cis takes his amiable stepfather out on the town; and Charlotte, Agatha's headstrong sister, seeks to mend a broken heart. Needless to say, after much hilarity, all is resolved and the audience goes home smiling.

There is much to recommend this delightful production. It opens and closes with a chorus of musical dandies, dressed in high-fashion period red, white, and black costumes. The songs, written especially for the National by Richard Stilgoe and Richard Sisson, evoke Gilbert and Sullivan, whose Mikado opened contemporaneously with The Magistrate's first run. Dandying with the best of them is the Australian musical theatre star Tamsin Carroll, a winner of both a Greenroom Award and a Helpmann Award for her roles in Dusty and Oliver!

Captain Horace Vale, Charlotte's love interest, is played by Nicholas Burns, an actor who will be recognisable to Australian viewers for his appearances in New Tricks, Marple, and A Touch of Frost. Roger Sloan, playing the magistrate's clerk, Mr Wormington, is also one of those faces you know immediately from his character roles in many of your favourite TV shows.

Joshua McGuire is hilarious as Cis, cavorting about the stage with an incredible energy and a knowing naughtiness, while Nancy Carroll makes Agatha a study in disintegrating composure.

The undoubted star of the show is John Lithgow as the Magistrate. Lithgow is probably best known for his work in television's Third Rock from the Sun and How I Met Your Mother but he is a joy to watch on stage. His Mr Posket is a comedic gem that will resonate with audiences young and old.

Director Timothy Sheader keeps a tight rein on proceedings, never allowing things to descend into complete chaos and remaining true to the mores of the piece. The physical comedy is eye-catching but it's the crisp dialogue that matters.

Movement director Liam Steel ensures the actors make the most of the creative set, designed by Katrina Lindsay to resemble the pop-up books that so entertained Victorian readers. Lindsay, already much-awarded for her work in theatre, dance, opera, and television, imbues the production with a delightfully stylised interpretation of the period.

Don't think that The Magistrate is simply a slice of comedy history or a quaint period piece. With Lithgow in the lead, this has a sharpness, wit, and hilarity that outshines most contemporary comedies.

Audiences across Australia can see this glorious production on February 2 and 3, thanks to independent distributor Sharmill Films. In Adelaide, head to Palace Nova for two hours of pure pleasure.

ENDS.