Project aims to return neglected female Restoration playwrights to the canon
The Busy Body
at St Hugh’s College, Oxford
on Friday, January 24
Review by JON LEWIS
IT’S likely that most theatregoers have never heard of Marplot, the central character in Susanna Centlivre’s 1709 hit play The Busy Body.
As played by Zak Ghazi-Torbati with a delightful comic lightness, Marplot never loses a chance to put his foot into his mouth.
He is as gormless as Michael Crawford’s Frank Spencer and as accident-prone as Peter Seller’s Inspector Clouseau. Marplot stumbles into people and ad-libs with audience members, breaking the fourth wall. The actor deploys a fun panoply of glances and glimpses as Marplot ruins the plans of most of the characters in the play.
The Busy Body is an excellent rediscovery by director Gabriella Bird and the three producers, Oxford’s Creation Theatre Company, London’s Orange Tree Theatre and Oxford University’s Cultural Programme.
The aim of the project is to return Centlivre and female Restoration playwrights to the canon having been neglected for the past 400 years.
In her day, Centlivre was one of the most famous names on the London stage as an actress and a writer and only Aphra Behn was a better-known female dramatist.
The company for this production rehearsed over four days with Oxford academics in the rehearsal room exploring the nuances of the script.
In the performance they read from scripts but often did not need them.
The plot revolves around the difficulties faced by two young women, Miranda (Boadicea Ricketts) and Isabinda (Bea Svistunenko) in trying to derail forced marriages in favour of the young men they love.
Miranda’s elderly, randy guardian Sir Francis Gripe (Robert Maskell) wants Miranda for himself, not least because of her inheritance, whereas Miranda is in love with the dashing Sir George Airy (Patrick Fusco).
Isabinda’s father Sir Jealous Traffik (Kevin Golding), who lived in Spain for years and loves all things Spanish, wants his daughter to wed a Spanish nobleman whereas she prefers Sir Francis’ son Charles (Herb Cuanalo), a friend of Sir George’s.
The young women are helped by their servants, Whisper (Sidonie McLaren) and Patch (Claire Redcliffe) but hindered every time Marplot enters their homes.
A superb revival that screams out for a full production.
