by George Bernard Shaw
Directed by Joseph Ziegler
At the Royal George
April 11-November 1, 2008

    Shaw is often said to be dated in his social and philosophic views, but this is hardly true in many of his plays where he seems to be prophetic and astonishingly far ahead of his times. Getting Married was first performed in 1908, when ideas about marriage and divorce were hardly radical, yet the play shows how Shavian wit and thought were much sharper than had been first imagined. Its subject is marriage laws and customs, which naturally involve a discussion of related themes such as human need, contracts, custom, companionship, children, and love. Dramatic and, mainly, comic tension is created by a variety of characters who are embroiled in relationships that challenge conventional custom. A young couple, for instance, is distressed by the terrifying legal aspects of a marital contract only hours before their marriage ceremony. The uncle of the bride who is about to divorce his young wife, runs into her and the young man for whom she has risked her marriage. She, in fact, welcomes the idea of having two husbands simultaneously! Then there is the Mayoress, Mrs. George, who entertains a distant adoration of the Bishop, father of the bride, who is writing a book on marriage. And, not to be left out of the comic plane, we have an army general who is still broken-hearted over a woman who simply refuses to marry him and who would have children but not a husband. Enough fodder for a farce, but Getting Married is a disquisitory play, which is to say that it is essentially a discussion or debate in which conversation, rather than action, is at the heart of the form.

   Joseph Ziegler’s production doesn’t seek to dress up the play with any unnecessary finery. It is loyal to the original setting of the Bishop of Chelsea’s kitchen (appropriately designed in Norman fashion by Sue LePage, with thick gray stone walls), and the only splashes of bold colour are in the costumes for General “Boxer” Bridgenorth (military scarlet with decorations) and the Mayoress who makes a spectacular entrance. The cast seems to relish some of the actor-proof roles, and though I have seen and can imagine better acting in many instances, the performers do a very creditable job. As the two young prospective marital partners, Krista Colosimo and Gray Powell, are serviceable without being particularly distinguished, though the fault here is mainly the text’s. Likewise, Martin Happer as Hotchkiss, the young married man with a crush on Mrs. George, doesn’t have the blazing charisma for his role. Peter Krantz’ General is a ninny and a big baby, but his bluster seems deficient. Fiona Byrne plays Lesbia, the object of his lifelong yearning, with feminist rigour and a lack of sentimentality, which are certainly correct, while Nicola Sharry Flett is the very picture of patiently sweet selflessness as the Bishop’s wife. Nicola Correia-Damude’s Leo has a throaty quality, but less so than Laurie Paton’s exceedingly attractive and spirited Mayoress, and making us believe that this woman could be a combination of devil, saint, and ordinary femininity. Other notables in a well-balanced cast are Michael Ball as Collins, the genial, wise grocer, David Schurmann as the amiable, drily witty Bishop, and, best of the males, Norman Browning as the sour Fr. Soames.

   Joseph Ziegler, as is his wont both as actor and director, keeps the focus on the human and humane. He allows us to follow the play’s arguments without patronizing them, and he strives to show us Shaw’s capacity for compassion. Any Shavian production that can keep a discussion play bubbling is a worthy one, indeed, especially one that promotes a light-hearted acceptance of mistakes, marital or purely romantic.  

Photos: David Cooper

pic 1: Sharry Flett as Alice Bridgenorth and David Schurman as the Bishop

pic 2: (rear L-R); Fiona Byrne, Peter Krantz, Nicola Crreai-Damude, Martin Happer) (front L-R) Peter Millard, Krista Colosimo, Gray Powell

pic 3: Martin Happer as Hotchkiss and Laurie Paton as Mrs. George Collins



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