Plenty of laughs in ‘Beyond a Joke’

Press, 13 August 1980, Page 6

Plenty of laughs in ‘Beyond a Joke’

. By

Howard McNaughton

“Beyond a Joke ” by Derek Benfield; Directed by Vyvian Hall for Bruce Warwick, Ltd; Janies HayTheatre, August 12 to 16. Running time: 8 p.m. to 10.25 p.m.

Arthur Lowe is what: the Victorians called an “eccentric comedian”—a highly distinctive repertoire pf mannerisms . combine to make up a comic style which seems as inexhaustible as. it-is unique. . The Towe eccentricities are thoroughly ■■ familiar- from television: the ■, peremptory approach to -off-hand treatment of mo-ments':-of great drama, the utterly, passive deportment in' the face of emotional ; assault,and, above all, the; unflinching straightness .with which he resists'the'ebbandi flow;:-' of farcical activity] around , him. . .........

It is, of course, a /style ideally, suited 'to television, where the -flatness, of re-J

sponse may be documented) continually in big close-ups; but a surprising.-. proportion of- it translates easily into the far . from intimate terms of the James Hay Theatre. The play is a farce about an accident-prone household, with a succession of cadavers being relayed around the garden, out of the sight of various visitors. Structurally it is very weak, worse even than Benfield’s --Wi)d Goose Chase,” but its dialogue does provide good material for the abilities of this cast, particularlyin the way that the household reacts to the rudeness of its head. > ;

i Margaret Ford and Joan Cooper establish a context of sophistication against which the farcical activity increases in intensity, and the central action is lifted by the appearance .of • the direct or,, ■ Vyvian Hall in the role of the vicar..—- an utter stereotype,! I but., very well done all thei !satne.>; . J

! ’ Alan /Fletcher and /Merrin i . Canning. provide a more I i youthful interest, but basic-'

ally this is a play which indulges the cynicism peculiar to characters of riper years. ■ ' ? ■

The quality of the script, however, often seemed--., a matter of minor importance — certainly, most of the audience seemed unconcerned’by it. Many of Arthur Lowe’s best laughs (and they came plentifully) were from lines that in themselves seemed pathetically weak, and in places he seemed almost to be working against the .script, taking passages very slowly indeed and scoring laugh's more through style than through, words. , The eccentric was never a leading role for the best, of Victorian reasons, and One can imagine Mr Lowe having a somewhat subversive effect on many more serious roles. If . a playwright has to be subverted, Derek Benfield seems to me ,an excellent candidate, and the response of last nighfs opening audience suggested \ that this cofribination will be- a most popular one..