Salvador Kent
Commedia Dell’Arte is a theatrical form of intense democracy, populism and beauty. It is as light as a feather whilst still being utterly biting in its critiques, and essential for the modern theatremaker to study. What a pleasure then, to catch Action Theatre’s The Italians in England, a traditional, irreverent Commedia play that serves as a wonderful example of the form.
You’d be hard-pressed to find this sort of work at Fringe very often, and it really is a stellar example of it – although I have a feeling it has a niche appeal. The humour is a bit ‘phwoar-phwoar’, and this iteration of Commedia isn’t the most interested in challenging the vertical structures the form has the potential to stretch. Still, a must-watch for fans of the old Italian style.
The plot is kind of irrelevant but it is basically reduced to a bunch of professionals and their servants go to a country house and all end up sleeping with each other. A bit of a dying sort of comedy in the 21st Century but one I have always found incredibly charming. On the way to the consummation of their relationships, there are schemes and slapstick. The slapstick is nicely shown by a clap and a turn, the sex is heard through grunting and moans. Every choice is funny and adds to the humour, which is a feat given Commedia audiences had a cruel sort of humour — they were most likely laughing at rather than laughing with for example, the cuckolded Pantaleone and the foiled Doctor, whose positions of power were traditionally interrogated by this old form.
An enormous cast perform their half-masked stock characters with charm and gusto — some hunting; most plotting and f—cking. Edoardo Vanoni’s Pedrolino is the best of the lot. His maskwork is subtle and charming, his guitar kicking off the final number and his performance garners the most laughs. George Mouskoundi is a suitably cowardish Captain, Juliet Turnbull and Aimee Hislop charming servants and all ten of the cast are convincing and energetic, whirling us along with this wonderful romp.
The cast ends the show by noting that the Italians really were in England in the sixteenth century, perhaps influencing a young Shakespeare – anyway, Will Kemp certainly did eventually. Their work stays with us today, and teaches you so much about how to make even the simplest work politically astute. It’s a thrill to see a company continuing the good work of preserving the form, and it’s worth catching on tour if you’re a theatremaker.
Recommended Drink: I drank a red bull sugar free during this performance and it was very nice.
You can catch The Italians in England at Fleming Theatre at theSpace @ Surgeons Hall from August 9-15 at 12:55 (55mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Eve Miller
Isobel Jacob
