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| Bazza with a beard |
One of the interesting things about reviving plays is how much of the audience's reaction will have changed simply because of changes that have occurred in society over the intervening period. This was first performed in 1912 when the idea of a female playwright was so unheard of that Sowerby was billed only by her initials; an idea which we could laugh at were it not for the fact that pretty much the same thing happened to J.K. Rowling rather more recently. For myself, I was naturally appalled by the father's treatment of his daughter even though I have only the most general idea of the social conventions that allowed him to do it and prevented her from escaping. On the other hand I rather sympathised with him regarding the elder son. John seemed to want all of the benefits of his father's wealth without actually doing anything for it; his sense of entitlement on the basis that he had been to Harrow certainly struck a contemporary chord. I've no idea whether the author intended to promote the concept of meritocracy, but she certainly did; although the talented working man character was a bit of a wet fish. It may be just me, but when watching any play from that period I find it difficult not to think of what we now know awaits the characters in their very near future.
It was, as one would expect from Northern Broadsides, an excellent production. Rutter was on fire - as can be seen in the photo above - and successfully managed to restrain the over-acting for once. I was, however, a bit disappointed at the lack of clog-dancing; presumably Jonathan Miller is not a fan.
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