RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN’S scintillating 1777 satire on the ocean of malicious gossip that apparently engulfed polite society of the time was unfairly described as two or three personal anecdotes “tacked together.”

But, as this production demonstrates, the theatrical triumph which is The School for Scandal is very much in the “tacking.”

Director Andrew Hilton’s Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory company, in a rare “escape” from the Bard, does not need to labour lines such as “In my day bankers knew their place” or, from a brilliantly modernised epilogue, “In Britain we breed scandal in our air.”

Our tabloid press certainly bears witness to the latter assertion.

As usual Hilton lets the play speak for itself, relying on meticulous clarity and character definition. The former is essential with the balanced cadences and wicked wit of Sheridan’s language as the cabal of scandal mongers dismember the reputations of friends and enemies alike.

The plot is a conventional tale of the intrigues relating to love and money, deceit and disguise, good guys and bad guys.

The efforts of the moralising hypocrite schemer Joseph Surface (Paapa Essiedu), in league with Lady Sneerwell (Julia Hills), to undo for their own ends his wild but generous brother Charles (Jack Warrior) are complemented by the frustrations of the elderly and irascible Sir Peter Teazle (Christopher Bianchi) trying to cope with his young wife, Lady Teazle (Daisy Whalley).

The college of scandalmongers is led brilliantly by Byron Mondahl’s Sir Benjamin Backbite. There is of course a happy end when wealthy uncle Sir Oliver (Chris Garner) pops up to reveal the true respective natures of his nephews in a series of hilarious exposure scenes.

Hilton and Designer Emma Bailey overcome the difficulties of producing a play clearly designed for the 18th century stage in the Tobacco Factory’s in-the-round space with inventive ease.

The scene in which the penurious Charles sells off the family portraits to his uncle — here disguised as a broker — by using audience members to represent the pictures, is a tour de force.

A production which suggests Sheridan would have been completely at home with contemporary TV satire.
Runs until May 9, box office: tobaccofactorytheatres.com

Reviewed by GORDON PARSONS