Here in Rye we are now used to the brilliant singing and playing exploits of Euphonia at the Rye Festival. “Is there no limit to their talents and those of their bewilderingly accomplished Artistic Director Alisdair Kitchen?” we fondly ask. Their drama presentation at the Rye Creative Centre on December 18 gave us our answer: there are, effectively, no limits.
Part of the motivation behind this event was to “challenge the assumption that opera singers can’t act”. We know now that they can be as good actors as they are singers. Alisdair Kitchen, pianist, conductor, director, academic and goodness knows what else, has cleverly adapted three short plays by Chekhov, transferring them from freezing Russia to the chilly North Of England, for three of the Euphonia company to perform and these three did him proud. Edward Jowle (usually a baritone), Sophie Dicks (usually a mezzo) and Hannah Jane Peel (usually a soprano), adopting utterly convincing, I’m told, northern accents, played their parts with tremendous verve.
The three plays, The Proposal, On The Evils of Tobacco and The Bear, are inspired choices: not only are they short and complementary to each other but they confirm Chekhov’s own protestations that his plays are comedies as much as anything. These performances showed how much Chekhov understood human nature and how its rational side is no match for its underlying emotional basis so that in many situations people will use almost any pretext to justify destroying promising harmony in what seem, to them, their own interests.
Conversely, as in The Bear, on occasion our emotions surprise us with unsuspected and surprising warmth to a situation which begins as entirely mercenary or banal.This afternoon event was, sadly, only sparsely attended; it was really terrific: entertaining, enlightening and accomplished. The Rye Creative Centre is a real cultural asset to the town and it is encouraging to see it being used for this kind of thing and for the Don Pasquale which so entertained us earlier in 2016. More please.
Photo: Kenneth Bird