La Locandiera

The Fringe is generally characterised by low budget performance, but La Locandiera is a more expansive treat. Although it is part of the Assembly programme, it takes place over lunch at a restaurant, and offers food and melodrama at some remove from the standard one man show.

"The Fringe is the best place in the world for variety, there are so many types of shows, we just wanted to add another kind of something to the mix," explains producer Sara Cregan. "La Locandiera is unusual as a fringe show as it is slightly more expensive than most. What makes it different is that you get a full three course meal as part of the show."

In the frantic rush of the Fringe, this makes practical and financial sense, claims Cregan. "Most people going to the theatre for the night are going to eat beforehand anyway and the ones that aim to fit as many shows as they can in a day will save themselves a lot of time by eating while watching one!"

Site-responsive work is more usually associated with gritty realism, yet Wonderland's version of Goldini’s classic comedy, turns Italian restaurant, Vittoria’s, into an 18th century Florentine Inn. "La Locandiera’s full effect of the food, the wine, the songs and the whole atmosphere is what draws people to it," Cregan continues. "The show has been touring Ireland for a year now and has been really well received everywhere it goes, it is even returning to places now that loved it so much they want it back."

The production aims to capture the luxury of the Florentine inn: "The show is very much about making you feel like you are in an 18th Century Florentine Inn," she continues. "It’s all about the atmosphere. The cast all sing traditional Italian songs and are dressed in the most beautiful period costumes."

The plot, as with all romantic comedy, is simple, with a twist. A seductive inn-keeper, Mirandolina is confronted by ‘the declared enemy of Italian women’ – the Ulster Gentleman – and her powers are called into question. Piqued, Mirandolina vows to vindicate her sex – by making him fall in love with her. The battle is set up: the misogynist against the seductress, man against woman.

 

"It's very much a battle of the sexes and the age old question," adds Cregan. "Who has the upper hand, the woman or the man? How a woman can win and woo a man and what men and women need and want from each other." Times may have changed, and the balance of power may have shifted, but Dregan insists that the subject is timeless. "No matter how much time passes people still like to laugh at the opposite sex’s attempts at seduction. It doesn’t matter how civilised we become the battle lines get drawn every night and you might find a couple enjoying the show together are rooting for totally different teams – the man for the misogynist and the woman for the seductress."

The subject matter suggests a serious examination of gender, as Cregan acknowledges. "It's also about sexual power play as Mirandolina uses her sexuality to dominate, cajole and wheedle all she can out of her male admirers." Yet this never reverts into a stuffy meditation. "Goldoini certainly does take a serious look at these questions but it is always with laughter in his writing and we have been very true to this."

By including the audience within the show – the action happens at an inn, around the dinner table that serves as an auditorium – Wonderland have noticed some fascinating reactions. "This show attracts a lot of different types of audiences and they all love it! The more theatrical crowd love it as a piece of theatre, the costumes, the music, the use of space, all of it," she conclude. "The fact that the show includes a full three course dinner is a real draw and people love the novelty of having their dinner and seeing a show at the same time. But every section of the audience reacts the same way in the end, they have fun, they laugh, they have a great meal and they go away with a smile on their faces. We often see large groups of friends coming to the show and it has been equally popular with 9 and 90 year olds. Everyone chortles.

 

"So between that and the candles and the beautiful food, you really do feel like you are a guest at Mirandolina’s Inn, spying on all the action!
Every venue we come to is different and although we would love every one to have a rustic Italian feeling, sometimes it is your run of the mill tables and chairs type place so we have to add our little touches, some candles, tablecloths, really simple things that you wouldn’t think would make that big a difference but once the lights go down and the music starts people don’t even realise they are in the 21st century let alone hotel restaurant x. The great thing about Vittoria On The Walk is that it already has that charm and character in spades so all we have to do is set the tables and start the show."

Read our review for La Locandiera