Wild Oats

Synopsis

Harry Thunder, a young naval cadet, absconds from naval college bitten by 'a rage for a little acting' and joins a company of strolling actors. Its leader, Rover, is a foundling, a man without home, family and love. The stage and his roles are more real to him than life, and when life, friendship and love (in the unexpected form of a Quaker beauty) make their insistent demands, his fragile grasp on reality begins to fall apart. Meanwhile, Sir George Thunder is in hot pursuit of his son... The Navy, the Quakers, the peasantry and the theatre all collide in this exuberant play by John O'Keeffe (famously dubbed 'the English Moliere). First played in 1791, it offers a gloriously comic view of English provincial life. O'Keeffe presents us with a cast of eccentrics, who through a series of hilarious mistakes and confusions discover the transforming power of the theatre of love.

Our Review:

Shane Morgan - 11 September 2012

[John O’Keeffe]’s work was celebrated with a grand flourish at a specially commissioned benefit performance in Covent Garden in 1800. He was described by William Hazlitt as being the ‘English Moliere’. In 1976, Bernard Levin of the Sunday Times proclaimed, “Whoever dug this masterpiece out for The Royal Shakespeare should be knighted at once…I declare that there is not to be found a more entirely delectable entertainment pitched betwixt Heaven and Charing Cross” following an RSC revival of Wild Oats.

Anticipation is certainly running high in Bristol as Mark Rosenblatt’s latest production re-opens the main house of the Bristol Old Vic following an extensive refurbishment.

We are greeted with a new prologue to open the show but it also serves as a warm welcome to the new look main house. What follows is a case of mistaken identity, love at first sight and daring thespian, Jack Rover’s on-going mission...

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Latest User Review

Paul James - 15 September 2012:

I loved every moment of this production and thought the 'rep' style was inspired. I'm not a 'lovie' or avid theatre goer but the charm of this play, the cast and the set had me hooked from the opening scene. The plot did need concentrating upon and the language could be 'heavy' at times, but this was an adaptation of an eighteenth century play. I was laughing out loud for most of the evening and thought it was a fitting way to welcome back the Old Vic. ...

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