A CHORUS OF DISAPPROVAL
Guy wasn’t going to be hung, of course–except perhaps in effigy, like his namesake Guy Fawkes, the 17th-century terrorist whose failure to blow up Parliament is celebrated in England with mock executions. Guy’s misdeeds aren’t serious crimes: a little adultery here, a little disingenuity here, a lot of passive aggression all around. But to Ayckbourn, Guy is every bit as immoral as Macheath–and every bit as much a reflection of the pervasive corruption of his society.
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Though much livelier than The Beggar’s Opera, Court’s A Chorus of Disapproval lacked comic crackle on opening night. But the energy should pick up as the large company’s sense of ensemble develops over the next two months. Certainly the show is propelled by strong and intelligent performances–particularly from handsome and engaging Tom Amandes as Guy (the sort of fellow Ian Carmichael or Peter Sellers might have played in one of those brilliant Boulting brothers film comedies from the early 1960s, like I’m All Right, Jack or Heavens Above!, which this play resembles); Nicholas Rudall, cast to ethnic type as the Welshman-out-of-water Dafydd; Deanna Dunagan as his self-martyring wife; and Denise du Maurier in an Agnes Moorehead turn as the caustically aristocratic Mrs. Huntley-Pike. These actors are standouts in a generally excellent cast whose consistency is all the more notable considering its size (16) and professional makeup (only half are Actors’ Equity professionals). If they pick up the pace a bit, the Court actors will give this knife of a play the sparkling shine it needs to match its edge.
