Review - Far From The Madding Crowd
October 22, 2008
Date Reviewed: 21st October, 2008
Venue: Northern Stage
The English Touring Theatres production of Far From The Madding Crowd is a clear, well produced version of the Thomas Hardy novel. Mark Healy’s adaptation goes at a cracking pace, despite its running time of just under three hours, the first half is so action packed that it is hard to believe over an hour and a quarter has gone by when the lights go up for the interval.
I must admit though I cannot recall having read the book, or sat through the entire film version, but I still found the adaption very clear to follow.
The story is set in “Wessex”, where Gabriel Oak(Phil Cheadle),a shepherd, unexpectedly proposes to Bathsheba Everdene (Rebecca O’Mara), but she turns him down. Shortly afterwards disaster strikes, as his flock fall off a cliff due to an undisciplined sheep dog.
Bathsheba then finds she has inherited a farm, which has a fire soon after she arrives and by chance Oak helps deal with the problem. He is then employed by her and eventually takes charge of the day to day running of the farm.
Her neighbour, farmer Boldwood (Stephen Billington), proposes marriage to her after she sends a misleading Valentine card. However, Sergeant Troy (Adam Croasdell), with a questionable reputation to say the least, uses his swordsmanship and smooth talking to win her over and they eventually marry hastily in Bath.
But Troy is not suited to run a farm and wastes money gambling. Meanwhile Fanny Robin, Bathsheba’s former servant, who has become pregnant by Troy before he married arrives at the Casterbridge Union House but dies in childbirth. Troy is distraught at the death as he views Fanny as his one true love.
Troy is then reported dead after he is seen wandering in to the sea and drowning, but has actually been rescued by some boatmen.
Boldwood now presses Bathsheba for a date when she will marry him, much to her distress. But when Troy returns unexpectedly Boldwood cannot accept he is not dead and in a fit of rage kills him.
With Troy dead and buried beside his beloved Fanny, Boldwood goes to jail. This leaves Oak to finally marry Bathsheba.
While the staging by designer Libby Watson is very cleaver you can never capture the landscapes and bleakness of Wessex on stage. Director Kate Saxon ensures that the action is always moving, often with one scene merging in to another, to great effect. She get the most from her cast. While the Hardy fans around me seemed to find the production disjointed (but how can you truly condense a massive novel to under three hours) to those of us not totally familiar with the story this production worked and gave us an enjoyable glimpse in to the world of Thomas Hardy and the lives of the people of Wessex.
John Dixon
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