Marriage of Figaro @ Lyceum

The Lyceum’s new adaptation of The Marriage of Figaro relocates Pierre Beaumarchais’ 1778 French original, focusing on the (literal) ins and outs of the French nobility, to the heated atmosphere of the boardroom. It all seems hideously appropriate and Beaumarchais’ script is used as a precision spring board to touch on corruption and sexual harassment alongside a large dose of silliness.

It is Figaro Ferguson’s wedding night with the beautiful Suzanne and he is about to merge his company, making it the biggest financial institution in Scotland; everything is coming up roses. Of course, it isn’t that simple. Figaro has signed a contract with the Chief’s assistant Margery that he will marry her; The Chief is making advances on Suzanne and his wife, The Chair, is not best pleased; the inept office boy Pavlo wants his shot with The Chair and the wet accountant Danny wants to reignite his romance with Margery. The crossed wires are stunning, perfectly created by D.C. Jackson’s fast paced comic dialogue and peppered with just the right amount of knob gags.

Stuart Bowman’s lecherous Chief and Molly Innes’ scheming Margery are glorious caricatures that give infinite amounts of energy to Jackson’s script. However, although the farce is strong, it can get a little too much. Cracking out a penguin costume seemed cheap alongside the central satire and at times the dialogue was so quick its impact was lost. However, these are minor issues with a show that can be held up on its energy alone.