Theatre
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Published 19 February 2007
Hytner's update on a Restoration classic mocks the modern metropolitan elite
The Man of Mode Olivier Theatre, London SE1
The French are a laughing stock. At least, they are in London theatres, where currently you can bring someone - anyone - on to the stage sporting a Gauloise or a beret, and the house will collapse. On the popular front, Spamalot does its Gallic-teasing using a parade of clichés from LeCoq clowns to Piaf gamines, while, over at the high end, Covent Garden's fabulous La Fille du Régiment had a giant painting of a French cockerel descend behind the chorus members as they sang about la patrie in silly accents.
This modern-dress production of George Etherege's Restoration comedy The Man of Mode, now at the Olivier Theatre, joins in with the Gallic disrespect. In fact, it piles it on. Like Charles II, the titular hero - Sir Fopling Flutter - has returned to London following a stay across the Channel. He is thus transformed into un homme cavalier, dressed in tassels and glitter, scented with Égoïste, weighed down with absurd mannerisms and with a French dance troupe in tow.
Rory Kinnear heroically manages to keep a lid on the role, though he causes near-hysteria every time he triple-kisses someone, waggles his tasselled cuffs or speaks Franglais. Just as well, because The Man of Mode is a pointed and chilly comedy about a wholly shallow world. Monty Python it is not, and Kinnear's combination of vanity and vulnerability sets off the razor-sharp society in which Sir Fopling has become embroiled.
The director, Nicholas Hytner, updated 17th-century London last year with The Alchemist, but this production makes Ben Jonson's Jacobean romp seem quaintly innocent. The city in which Sir Fopling arrives is a debauched, promiscuous place, rife with malicious gossip and teeming with sexual intrigue, starring a sophisticated, multiracial array of wealthy hedonists who view the countryside - "even in painted landscapes" - with horror.
Purists might shudder at tweaks that Hytner has made to the text, which was written in 1676. People mouth "Love you!" at each other and drop references to Diptyque candles; this Man of Mode leaps out at us from the pages of Heat, not the paintings of Lely. However, if you want Restoration theatre to be more than historical evidence, such an intelligent and witty refocus is the ideal solution.
Chief among the sharp-suited playboys is Dorimant (Tom Hardy), who opens the evening by flaunting his semi-naked body across the Olivier stage. Fortunately for us, Hardy has a great physique - plus a come-to-bed smile and a brain that is constantly scrabbling to find ways to get for himself a better time than the one he is enjoying. "Youth has a long journey to go" is one of Dorimant's explanations for his ruthless promiscuity.
He has a mistress - the neurotic fashion designer Mrs Loveit (Nancy Carroll) - but he is bored by her, even though, to get what he wants, he is only too happy to peel off her red stockings and go down on her at the office. Dorimant's main aim, however, is to bed and then wed Lady Woodvill's loaded daughter Harriet (Amber Agar) in order to pay off his horrendous debts. His flat is full of designer flowers, mirrors and fake fur throws. He is a heartless rake, armed with cruelty, charm and a giant bed on which he eagerly fulfils his assignments.
An older generation is here trying to further its ambitions, too. Lady Woodvill, played by Indira Joshi as a haughty, disapproving aristocrat wrapped in a sari, arrives from Yorkshire aiming to marry off her daughter - to anyone but Dorimant. Hytner's recasting of Restoration aristocracy as wealthy British Asians is astute: not only does it make sense of the plot, which turns on an arranged marriage, but it acknowledges a crucial stratum of modern society.
The designer, Vicki Mortimer, has moved Etherege's social whirl into the world of the chichi members' bar and art gallery. It is a sumptuous parade of the beautiful and the ambitious who care for nothing but their own fortune. Probably as true of life in the capital 350 years ago as it is today.
For further information log on to http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk
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