North Shore Times (New Zealand)
She Stoops to Conquer - deceit and double standards
Most people have been the target of practical jokes at some time, and many have been out on blind dates. Oliver Goldsmith’s classical comedy She Stoops to Conquer, the next production by Phoenix Theatre, includes both such incidents, resulting in an amusing plot based on mis-communication and mistaken identities.
Originally entitled The Mistakes of an Evening the play shows how deceit, avarice, double standards, buffoonery, and of course love, can produce a hilarious, wry and witty comedy of manners. The play’s universal themes are as relevant in the Edwardian era, when this production is set, as they were in 1773 when the play was first performed.
The play pokes fun at the class system and hypocrisy – a country gentleman is mistaken for an innkeeper and talked down to - the hero is a shy, stammering fellow in front of ladies but a dashing suitor in the presence of working-class girls - a young lady pretends to be a barmaid to catch her man.
The audience laughs at the confusion of the characters.
And what a bunch of characters are brought together in this rural setting. You will laugh at the roguish Tony Lumpkin who loves to stir up trouble; sympathise with the kindly country gentleman, Mr Hardcastle; deplore the aspirations to wealth and social standing of Mrs Hardcastle; cheer on the two lovely girls, Kate Hardcastle and
Constance Neville, who seek happy marriages with the men of their choice; and encourage the young city gentlemen Charles Marlow and George Hastings as they search for happiness.
Come along to The Rose Centre, School Road, Belmont and see She Stoops to Conquer from Thursday October 6 to Saturday 15, Tuesday to Saturday 8pm, Sunday 2pm, no performance Monday. Booking 445-9900, info@phoenixtheatre.co.nz.