THE HYPOCHONDRIAC - RADIO ADELAIDE REVIEW

by Myk Mykyta

It is said that at any time somewhere in the world there is a Shakespeare play running and a play by Moliere. Brink Productions are contributing with Moliere’s The Hypochondriac or Le Malade imaginaire in a new version by Paul Galloway directed by Chris Drummond at the Space Theatre and it is an absolute delight.

I feel that I need to put in a disclaimer: I love the works of Moliere so when I start gushing it is because it is quite rare to see his work done where Moliere’s spirit comes across as strongly as Brink Productions have done. I also need to issue a warning – if you find farting jokes offensive and bodily functions even more so then The Hypochondriac is definitely not for you; the show starts with an on stage crap and then picks up from that. The spirit of the play definitely emanates from the protagonist’s obsession with his bowels and their functions. Chris Drummond, the director, Paul Galloway, the writer, and the rest of the company have taken on the commedia dell’arte influences in the original and adopted them with Rabelaisian gusto. Wendy Todd’s design and Geoff Cobham’s lighting help to move the play with the pace it deserves.

The scenario is typical of the commedia – from Menander, via Plautus: a slight romantic story of girl-meets-boy, girl-loses-boy, girl-gets-boy is interlarded with wonderfully comic routines involving stock characters and laced liberally with music to produce a rich theatrical fare that is only possible in the theatre. Add some of Moliere’s pointed digs at the medical profession of his day and you have a heady brew indeed.

But! This is comedy and requires great skill and a lot of energy in its creation. There is enough energy in The Hypochondriac to more than light up Adelaide for the duration and all the actors have gone beyond skill to produce a seemingly effortless result.

Paul Blackwell’s performance as the hypochondriac rich merchant Argan is as delightful as it is technically proficient. Jacqy Phillips as the maid Toinette is the epitome of the scheming servant who will do her best for her young mistress Argan’s daughter Angelique, Emily Branford. And she is every bit the dutiful daughter – when it suits her. Nathan O’Keefe is the handsome lover Cleante as well as the delightful Louison, Argan’s younger daughter.

Carmel Johnson is a bouncily scheming Beline, Argan’s second wife, plotting furiously to rid him of his money. Terence Crawford as Argan’s brother Beralde brings a wonderful gravitas to his role as well as a powerful bit of reality that sets off Argan’s hypochondria even more distinctly. Edwin Hodgeman and Rory Walker play various members of the medical profession as well as a father and son. Hodgeman shows us just what can be done with expressive silences and Walker is the epitome of a boring young fart, and that has nothing to do with flatulence. And of course there is also Stuart Day as the ever present musician who not only provides the music but is also a confidant, butt of abuse and joint schemer.

I laughed at the situations, the scheming and plotting along with the rest of the appreciative audience knowing that things will all come right in the end. And the finale of Argan’s inauguration into the medical fraternity with its dog Latin and voice-over translation not only had me in stitches but it also reminded me that The Hypochondriac is not a piece of museum theatre dusted of as a bit of culture, but a vibrant, living, breathing – and farting – bit of life brought into being by talented and dedicated theatre professionals of today. If you choose to miss this you’ll be the poorer for it.