Langham Court Theatre’s A Chorus of Disapproval makes for a night of good clean laughter. However, Langham Court Theatre’s claim on their website that the play is appropriate for all ages is a stretch. While most of it is, some of the humour does not shy away from sexual innuendos; there’s even a swinger party involving a woman in her 90s. While the absurdity of this situation makes for side-splitting, well-timed punch lines, it’s not something I’d take my seven-year-old cousins to see.
Most of the humour in the show is spearheaded by Jaymes D. Goodman’s performance as Dafydd, a director who is, hilariously, on the verge of a nervous breakdown, mostly due to his cast’s shortcomings throughout the play within A Chorus Of Disapproval, John Gay’s 1728 play The Beggar’s Opera. There is often a fine line between letting the play-within-a-play scenario drive the plot forward or sideways, and in this case it derailed it a bit; however, the delivery of lines in a fresh and punchy way compensated for this.
The creative sets—from a 1970s British pub to an upper-class country house sitting room—were a nice sight for the eyes, and the quick, seemingly effortless scene transitions made the play flow well. The costumes were also extremely well done.
Some of the performers’ singing struggles were quite obvious, while others sung effortlessly and elegantly. The play—written in 1984—didn’t start behind the 8 ball, as plays put on by amateur theatre groups about amateur theatre often do; they have to be above the talent level they are trying to portray to have the on-stage awkwardness come off as funny. That works in this play, and the mockery was hilarious. The blocking was also done well, which is always a challenge with large casts on a small stage.
As someone who directed plays in high school, I’m confident in saying it conveyed the madness and stress of the rat race that is endless hours of tedious, frustrating rehearsals.
A Chorus of Disapproval
Various times,
until Saturday, June 23
$17 student tickets,
Langham Court Theatre
langhamtheatre.ca