TOM JONES
to 15 July 2022 – Review by Barry Brown
‘Tom Jones’, written by Henry Fielding in 1749 and one of the first novels, is a spectacular view of 18th Century Society with the archetypal innocent abroad hounded from bed to bed in pursuit of his true love. It is huge and complicated and presents much opportunity for pantomime in the wrong hands. But Bawds and their Director, Helen McCallum are the right hands and this was a production of lightness of touch, pace, precision and engaging characterisation.
In the beautiful setting of Madingley Hall and on a fine evening, it took its cue from the energy and charm of Tim Leach as Tom Jones, who took proceedings by the scruff of the neck and drove them forward at an intoxicating pace, propelling the plot with asides to the audience that set the tone for the whole evening.
His journey of physical education started with Chrissie Kelby (Molly) and continued at the hands and other appendages of May McCool (Mrs Waters) and Jenny Scudamore (Mrs Fitzpatrick), moving up the social scale to his true love Olivia Krauze (Sophia Western). Each of them created lively and independent women, with Jenny Scudamore in particular displaying stylishly exquisite comic timing assisted by outstanding hair (Hannah Curtis) and twinkling eyes.
The stones in Tom’s path were ably distributed by Liam Sheils (Thwackum) and Rory Lowings (Blifil) as convincing villains, the latter an awful warning of the perils of selective breeding that haunts us still. On that note, Peter Simmons (Squire Western) played a fool, a drunk and a Tory and James Dowson (Captain Fitzpatrick) an aggressive Irishman, without a hint on either part of caricature and all the authority of their considerable abilities as actors.
Special mention is due to two lovely deadpan comic performances that engaged fully with the audience. Geraldine Hindley (Susan) created a sort of female Buster Keaton in the best scene of the play at the Inn, a breathless farce where she diligently scrubbed the grass whilst the cast circled maniacally. Peter Dodds was perfect as the Constable, giving an obsequious veneer of civility to dialogue of vicious insensitivity.
George Sigsworth gave gentle authority to Squire Allworthy and Christian Bailey (Doctor), Isabel Rees (Honour), Ben Magnus (Lord Fellamar) and Paul Gaskell (Executioner) completed an excellent cast who all deserve credit for a seamless evening.
In the Theatre, the temptation might have been to complicate the action with sets to represent the different locations, but none of this mattered here and the simplicity of the design by Sarah Deboys meant that the whole thing just felt natural in its setting. I particularly liked the washing line that did service as Molly’s cottage. Costumes (Tracy James) were simple and unfussy, setting the period whilst allowing energetic movement. Similarly, the lighting (Doug Deboys) was subtle, with footlights providing an authentic 18th century feel to the London interiors. The sound (Chris Hay) was miraculous, this being the only outdoor production I have ever seen where you could hear every word, a feat that helped keep everything unforced and completing the enjoyment of a very entertaining evening.