Machiavelli’s farce Mandrake is currently enjoying a run at the Brockley Jack Studio Theatre in SE4.
A successful modern refresh directed by Scott Le Crass and penned by Howard Colyer, this tale about Italian lust and intrigue retains its humour despite its great age (it was written in 1518) – its chock full of gentle humour and not a few belly laughs.
The actors also work their socks off to make the most of the play – high energy performances abound, particularly Will Parrott as Calimaco, the main conniver of the piece whose faux French doctor is played with Kenneth Williams levels of conviction, with John McInnes giving an equally arch performance as servant and fixer Ligurio. Jean Apps is wonderfully dry as the severe old dame Sostrata – I was almost expecting the line ‘a handbag??’ to appear at some point! Against all this wild gesticulation and out-there acting Andy McLeod is a suitable foil, playing a plodding and stoic priest who finds himself entangled in these increasingly outrageous plots.
Plaudits are also due to Kemey LaFond for the simple yet effective set design that she has brought to Mandrake. I’m always amazed by the creativity that goes into the creation of sets on these tiny off-West End stages. For Mandrake she has devised a series of black and white painted screens which are moved forwards, backwards and rotated to simulate a multi-layered street scene or the expansive interior of a cathedral – it’s very well executed.
Mandrake runs at the Brockley Jack Studio Theatre (which I should mention has a delightful pub next door) until 15 June.