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Camden theatre | Anton Checkhov's The Bear and The Proposal | Lion and Unicorn Theatre review |
THE BEAR / THE PROPOSAL
The Lion and Unicorn
THE battle of the sexes dominates two of Chekhov’s short plays, The Bear and The Proposal, in this spirited production from Act Provocateur.
The Bear sees two people consumed with themselves, and at loggerheads with each other. Lynda Newbury’s Popova indulges her grief for her husband, dead seven months, using her loyalty to him in death as an act of vengeance against the infidelities of his life.
Into her black existence bursts Gwillym Lloyd’s Smirnov, imploring her for payment of a debt her late husband owed him. His begging turns to anger when she rebuffs him, unable to pay him for another two days, and not “in the mood” for more debate.
This prompts a torrent of self-pity and misogyny from him: he spits against the “intolerable tribe” that is women and clenches his teeth in a rage that could “grind the world to powder”.
Soon events descend into farce, as they first demand a duel from one another, and then each other’s hand in marriage.
The Proposal follows a similar trajectory, moving from imprecation to confrontation to happy resolution. Lomov (a superb comic turn from Joel Mellinger) is overwrought with anxiety as he visits Chubukov (Keith Myers) to ask for the hand of his daughter, Natalya (Susan Samuel).
Left to do the deed, Lomov complains of heart palpitations, a trembling lip and a twitch of the right eyelid as the intended proposal is hijacked by a dispute over land and then an argument over who has the superior dog.
The recrimination turns into a slanging match, as each accuses the other’s family of land-grabbing, electoral fraud, madness and deformity. In this atmosphere, Mellinger’s intense comic performance – writhing on the floor, paralysed in the leg, unable to feel his shoulder – is very entertaining. Everyone hating everyone else can be a lot of fun. |
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