REVIEW: The Misanthrope

Justin Fleming’s witty script provides the bedrock for this entertaining reimagining of Moliere’s Le Misanthrope in the contemporary Australian music industry.

Although some 350 years have passed since Moliere’s comedy of manners was first performed on a Parisian stage, his trenchant criticism of hypocrisy and sycophancy is as relevant today as ever.

In a gender-bending move, director Lee Lewis gives Danielle Cormack the lead role of Alceste, a stringent critic of the fawning, duplicitous manners of her social set.

Her complaints are aired at length as the play opens, with her lawyer and best friend Philippa (Rebecca Massey) arguing persuasively for the exercise of etiquette and politeness in human interactions.

Alceste will have none of it, insisting on nothing less than total and even brutal honesty.

She is caught in a terrible bind, however, as the object of her devotion — the gorgeous Cymbeline (Ben Gerrard) — epitomises the world of flattery and pretence that Alceste despises.

She also offends Orton (Hamish Michael) with lacerating criticism of his song-writing ability, and she’s utterly contemptuous of her admirer Arsenio (Simon Burke). 

Fleming mercifully deviates from Moliere’s rhyming couplets to give us a script that is more attuned to the ear of today’s theatre audience, and the result is mostly very amusing.

Lewis’ direction provides some comical non-verbal flourishes, especially in the performance of Ben Gerrard, but Dan Potra’s backstage set is unnecessarily cluttered.

In the end, Alceste is so critical of almost everyone around her, including her lover, that one wonders why she doesn’t desert human society for a desert island, given the strength and stridency of her feelings. 

It’s no surprise, then (spoiler alert), that the couple celebrated at the conclusion of this engaging production does not include either our heroine or her lover. 

You’ll have to buy a ticket to find out who the lucky couple is.

Until Sep 28. Opera House. Bennelong Point, Sydney. $30-$85+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.sydneyoperahouse.com

Reviewed by Irina Dunn.