What a fabulous evening of theatre ...
Wild Oats is a typical late 18th Century farce, full of mistaken identity, wit, daft situations and intrigue. What the Bristol Old Vic have done with this production is keep true(ish) to the text but update the situation to more modern times and tease out all, and I do mean all, of the humour. A face paced, physical production results, pushed right into the audience thanks to the thrust stage and fully engaging us with its verbal dexterity.
I have not felt so much raw joy in theatre in a very, very long time ... this is pure, unadulterated fun. Fast, laugh out loud funny, visually stunning and so brim full of ideas and visual gags that I may need to go see it again just to catch up. Don't be fooled by the poster, there's no powdered wigs and no rouge here, well, a little rouge ;-)
The cast of 11 play all 21 characters, plus scene shifters, yet with such conviction that there is never any doubt about who's who ... unlike the characters in the play who seem adept at confusing that, intentionally or unintentionally, throughout. All of them work really hard and, although this was opening night, worked as a real team to pull this shoiw together ... never dull, not even in the "we need to explain some plot now so just sit and listen" moments, the energy and commitment of the cast is palpable. As an actor I was just so damned envious ... what a fabuloius work to be part of.
My congratualtions to Mark Rosenblatt on such an explosive opening show and to the entire cast; go see the show and you'll realise why I think it would be churlish to single out any particular performer!
Yes, the convoluted and contrived plot all works out in the end, of course it does, but the real power of this production is the way it lifts your heart to see it. I was bowled over. If you love theatre for its own sake then I think you will be too ... oh, and the new seats are very comfortable ;-)
