Review by Dan Sinclair
⭐️⭐️⭐️
As you step into the Southwark Playhouse, rats scurry about the floor, dust sits on the stage, battered windows are in need of a paint, it’s giving 19th century French Novel (not the misérable one). Two rat catchers enter on horseback, dispatched to the provincial town of Yonville. There they happen upon Madame Emma Bovary, and as they say, the rest is Madame Bovary written in 1857 by Gustave Flaubert. That is what they say, right?
The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary is one of the Southwark Playhouse’s Christmas offerings this season, after John Nicholson’s adaptation of Flaubert’s novel was originally staged back at the Jermyn Street Theatre in 2022. This production by Cornish based HaHumAh started life at the Minack Theatre (big up) before snaking it’s way up to Southwark. Through a convenient rat-based framing device, this adaptation has Emma Bovary tell her own story - it’s one of romance, heartbreak, deception, debt and all the messy stuff in life with of course, a tragic ending.
With a fourth wall break right at the top of the play we meet our multi-rolling cast, as the dim-witted doctor Charles Bovary, Darren Seed gives a cracking comic performance throughout. Holed up in the pharmacy, he is being hunted down by bailiffs seeking to reclaim the debt stacked up by his wife Emma Bovary, the titular role played by Georgia Nicholson. Carrying the dramatic weight of this adaptation, she is razor sharp and gives a lovely depth to the Madame. As loving he is, Emma Bovary feels very little for Charles and has spent years off chasing true romance, mainly in the form of the delightful Leon, performed by the spritely Ben Kernow. Lastly is Stephen Cavanagh as… well everyone else. With a toolbelt of essentially every accent across Ireland and the United Kingdom, he is often the comedic highlight.
The four madcap performers are sadly let down somewhat by their script, John Nicholson’s adaptation tries to turn this desperately tragic story into a comedy, to varying degrees of success. It has its moments, notably the closing of the first half is show stealing (so much so that the actors even recreate the scene for the fun of it at the top of the second half). Ben Kernow’s Rodolphe leaps about the stage, flowers appear from nowhere, firecrackers explode, streams of ribbons fly, fire erupts from his hand, it’s properly funny stuff. But then a lot of the remaining comedy struggles to land, often relying on strange voices or silliness rather than genuine gags. If the core story just isn’t funny, then how else can you get comedy?
Marion Harrison's set design seems to be ripped straight out of the walls of a small French village: worn down wooden panels, rickety windows and general grime strewn about. A series of hatches make for a fun game of peek-a-boo, you’re never quite sure what set piece or props will lie behind the window when it opens next. Sometimes a pharmacy cupboard, a gramophone, a bar, a kitchen, it keeps the play racing along nicely. Dan Bottomley’s sound design is charming, accordions and fiddles create a charming atmosphere, it makes you want to drink a little glass of brandy and go to a can-can show. I was excited when I saw live instruments at the start of the play, but these sadly never come back again, instead solely using the pre-recorded music.
John Nicholson’s script gives weight to the much needed feminist re-interpretation of Emma Bovary, but the tonal whiplash of comedy to feminist critique to heartbreaking drama leaves it all a bit flat, never fully saying anything. This was especially felt in the ending sequence, a beautifully delivered monologue from Georgia Nicholson rages at the constant killing of our tragic heroines: Emma Bovary, Cleopatra, Hedda Gabler, Anna Karenina, Ophelia, Antigone, but in their deaths we remember them. And then before it all gets too serious, the play jumps back to comedy.
It’s a cheeky adaptation of the classic 19th century novel, and don’t worry if you’ve never read it, but beware if you pretend that you have to seem more intelligent. Whilst the script has its flaws, it is well worth a watch for the four top-notch comedic performances, and a great Christmas option for those who are already a bit panto-ed out.
The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary is playing at the Southwark Playhouse till 5th January.
Photos by Tanya Pabaru