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Published: 26 January, 2012
BY EMILY WIGHT

Georges Feydeau is famous for his farcical portrayal of Parisian life during the Belle Epoque; his works are full of coincidences and misunderstandings that would not feel out of place in a Shakespearean comedy.

In this production at Pentameters, director Michael Friend has merged together three of Feydeau’s 60 plays to make a statement about the nature of love.

The first half involves childhood sweethearts and twentysomethings; the second is about a marriage in its later stages.

This adaptation shows that comedy of manners from 120 years ago can still draw laughs today.

We all remember our desire as young children to “play grown-up”, and Robert Durbin and Marusiya Kalinina interpret the endearing silliness of children extremely well.

Love and a Piano tells the story of Lucile, who is awaiting a new piano teacher, and Edward, who thinks he has gone to the house of a well-known actress.

The humour revolves around their simultaneous mistaken identities, and rather than feeling laboured, the slapstick element brings a certain innocence that cannot fail to bring a smile to your face.

Even Late Relations, depicting the trials and tribulations of a marriage turned stale, has the audience in stitches as the cast bring out Feydeau’s ability to turn the serious into the comic.  

As he interweaves the three plays, Friend employs four actors playing several roles.

Particularly effective is the casting of Evelyn Campbell and James Owen as both a couple falling in love and a couple who appear to have fallen out of love – suggesting that this transformation of emotions can happen to anyone and perhaps reflecting on Feydeau’s own divorce.

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