Seemingly condemned, along with every other English dramatist of the 16th and 17th centuries, to live forever in the shadow of Shakespeare, Ben Jonson’s work certainly deserves its share of the spotlight. A contemporary of Shakespeare’s, Jonson penned wicked, acidic moral farces replete with larger-than-life caricatures embroiled in convoluted plots of deception, disguises, lies and greed.
Now, Unifaun Theatre Company is, for the first time in Malta, staging a production of The Alchemist, possibly Jonson’s greatest play. A biting satire on the amoral dealings in 17th century London, the plot hinges on Face, Subtle and Doll, a trio of schemers who utilise increasingly elaborate tricks and deceptions to swindle money out of the gullible.
Polly March, the production’s director, expresses her delight at being involved in the production. “When Adrian Buckle asked me if I would take this on, I was so pleased to have the opportunity of working on a play that I have known for a long time, and really enjoyed. The language, the wit, the passion, the sharp barbs at all sorts of types and traditions – it is a huge pleasure. And of course, the chance of bringing to it a new audience, who could enjoy the shenanigans, was too good to miss. Bring Jonson off the bookshelf and onto the stage, where he belongs – who could turn that opportunity down?”
Ms March insists that, as the play approaches its 400th anniversary next year, its relevance has not diminished in the slightest. “Its relevance to us today is that absolutely nothing has changed in our basic nature,” she says. “The questions he poses in The Alchemist must be answered by us, right now, right here. The characters in the play are all very familiar to us; the innocent, the gullible, the voluptuary, the cynic – and the cheaters!”
When I bring up Jonson’s relatively low profile when compared to the towering figure of Shakespeare, Ms March emphasises the far-reaching differences that separate the two playwrights. “Their approach could not have been more different. Shakespeare took his plots almost entirely from existing stories, legends, old plays – as did (fellow contemporary) John Webster. They were often laid in foreign countries; the names of the characters smacked of the exotic; the themes were moral, philosophical – grand. Jonson is not grand in that sense at all. Jonson wrote entirely original plays – the plots are his own, not plagiarised (I am quoting here!)”
This difference in approach, Ms March continues, led to wildly different plays – where Shakespeare exhibits a poetic detachment, Jonson’s drama is immediate and vital. “It’s as though Shakespeare stands at a distance from his subject; Jonson is right in there, passionate, furious sometimes, topical, sharply bitter and satirical when the occasion demands. His plays are set very particularly in a known place – firmly in the streets, alleys and lanes of the city of London.”
There is an academic tradition that has read Jonson’s plays as remarkably apt reflections of their time. Following the prosperous golden age of Elizabeth’s rule, the coronation of James I in 1603 heralded an age of austerity, narrowed horizons and diminished prospects. Accordingly, the grand, sweeping poetry and exotic, far-flung locales of Shakespeare’s tragedies made way for the cynical mundanity of Jonson’s comedies, where far-reaching philosophical explorations were replaced by grimy, undisguised farces of materialist greed.
If that is the case, then now – with the world in the midst of the greatest financial crisis in decades - seems like a particularly appropriate time for a performance of The Alchemist. Ms March agrees. “Nothing has changed in the nature of man – the greed, the desire to have something for nothing (or for very little), the immorality of those that have a lot, wanting more. And see where we are now – in the middle of a credit crunch, an economic crisis, a state brought about by greed and stupidity. So, even as we were rehearsing, more and more news was coming out about the various get-rich-quick schemes indulged in by the sharp practice of financial chancers – and the alchemist himself can stand as a metaphor for them. He and his two confederates offer riches, good luck and, through the magic of money, anything their victim’s hearts can desire.”
It is this acute timeliness, Ms March continues, that led to the decision to move the play out of Jonson’s 17th century London, and update the milieu to present-day Valletta. “Because it is relevant to us, today, and in every city in the world, I have chosen to update the play to the present day, and re-locate it to Valletta. Nothing has changed in 400 years.” This also serves, she continues, to sharpen the sting in the tale. “There is always a danger in a play that has a sharp moral lesson to teach us – because we don’t always want to learn that lesson. Leaving it in ‘another time and another place’ may let us off the hook. Bringing it up to date, and setting it here, will, I hope, leave the audience with the truth of the old saying ‘if something sounds too good to be true, then it is’!”
This change in venue has necessitated some changes, but it has also opened up new dramatic opportunities. “Pierre Portelli, the designer, and I have turned the set inside out. Everything that happens offstage, now happens onstage; this adds to the chaos that the villains experience as all their plans start falling apart. It’s a farce without all the doors. And of course, the audience can see what’s happening – they know in advance that a banana skin is just there, waiting to be trodden on!”
All of which suddenly makes The Alchemist seem like less of a departure for Unifaun, the company that has given us productions of such controversial, thought-provoking fare as Sarah Kane’s Blasted and Philip Ridley’s Mercury Fur.
I ask Ms March how she sees this production fitting in with the “Well, it fits in with the track record in as much as the play holds up a mirror to us; it requires us to decide whether or not we are victims or villains; if the morality of a get-rich-quick society is one of which we want to be a part. Other plays in Unifaun’s past have done the same thing – they have often made me uncomfortable, and sent me away thinking hard. The Alchemist does the same thing in a different way – laughter is a very sneaky way of making us think! And a method that playwrights of all times and places have used.”
The cast lined up for the production is impressive, to say the least. Alan Paris, Edward Mercieca and Nanette Brimmer play the duplicitious con-artists at the heart of the plot, but these names are just the tip of the iceberg. Ms March is justifiably proud of the cast. “Unifaun, myself and Jonson (if I may speak on his behalf), are blessed with such a cast. The combination of experience, intelligence, creativity and passion is inspiring. The range of characterisation required of them is huge – several disguises are adopted by various people at various times – and they just come up with more and more inventiveness!”
■ The Alchemist is being performed at the Manoel Theatre on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets may be obtained from the booking office by phone on 2124 6389, by e-mail: bookings@teatrumanoel.com.mt or online: www.teatrumanoel.com.mt