THREE STARS
PEOPLE it seems have
always been greedy and nowhere is this point proved more than in Ben
Jonson's play Volpone.
Set in Venice it tells
the tale of Volpone and his servant Mosca who pretend to all and
sundry that Volpone is dying in order that he will get gifts and
favours in return for being bequeathed his fortune.
A new production of
this 17th century play is now on at the lovely Jack Studio Theatre in
Brockley staged by Scena Mundi.
Director Cecilia
Dorland has set it in the 1920s and has given it a judicious pruning.
What we are left with
is a piece which is tight and funny and which shows Volpone's
friends, the greedy birds of prey, Voltore, Corbaccio, Corvino and
Lady Would-Be vie for his attention.
They visit him daily
with expensive presents while delighting in the fact he appears to be
dying.
However, things get a
bit complicated when the old fox Volpone decides he wants to bed
Corvino's virtuous wife Celia.
Things get further
complicated when he is found with Celia and then hauled off to court.
It is only the quick wit of Mosca which gets him out of the hole he's
in.
It is an interesting
production. Steve Hope-Wynne's Volpone doesn't strike me as
particularly devious, rather just plain greedy - with wide bulging
eyes and a leer when he thinks he's got one over on his friends.
They in turn are a rum
bunch, each having their quirks. The funniest is Ava Amande as Lady
Would-Be who talks nonsense most of the time, so much so that Volpone
has to put his hands over his ears. He almost gives the impression
he's a bit weary of his friends full stop and would just rather they
all left him alone.
But the star of the
piece is without doubt Pip Brignall as Mosca. With a fixed smile on
his face he is both cunning and clever with a very sinister edge.
Volpone is on at the
Jack Studio Theatre, Brockley Road until October 17. Tickets cost
£14. Visit www.brockleyjack.co.uk
or call the box office on 0333
666 3366
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