The Soldier's Fortune

Synopsis

1680. Beaugard and Courtine return to London from wars abroad - empty handed and disenchanted. Beaugard hits on a brilliant scheme to improve their fortunes. Clarinda, unhappily married to the aged, infatuated Sir Davey Dunce, concocts a plan to reverse her fortunes. And Sir Jolly Jump, one of the great portraits of wayward sexuality, sets about helping the lovers, thereby enhancing his fortunes... Otway s restoration comedy is brutally, hilariously modern - but the undertow of deep sensuality suggests it is a missing link between Much Ado About Nothing and Oscar Wilde.

Our Review:

23 February 2007

The frustrating thing about David Lan’s revival of Thomas Otway’s The Soldiers' Fortune is the opportunity lost to re-establish a really fine Restoration comedy; as the evening drains away without laughter or brio of any kind, so does the will to live.

What has gone wrong? The auditorium has been magnificently re-arranged in Lizzie Clachan’s design, with a huge proscenium stage dominating an arena of platforms, a live band in a snug pit and even cellarage for a badly mis-fired homo-erotic scene in a male sauna. But the spirit of the play does not live in the playing, which is crude, over-emphatic, without pace or subtlety; it lacks the fire, wit and panache to match Otway’s text. We don’t fall in love with anyone on the stage.

Two soldiers, Captain Beauregard (Ray Fearon) and Courtine (Alec Newman), have returned to London from the Dutch wars, destitute and ragged, desperate for sex and money. With the help of an obscene old pander, Sir Jolly...

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Latest User Review

rds - 23 March 2007:

Dire! More Soldier's Misfortune. David Bamber, who is a wonderful actor, was camper than the proverbial row of tents which fortunately helped to lift an otherwise tedious first half, which felt twice as long as it actually was. Like an other reviewer here I made off into the night at the first opportunity. There were a few young people in the night I went and two teenage black girls actually fell asleep in the front row - which seemed to attract Mr Bamber's curiosity. I hoped that these poor girls did't get put off theatre for life by this awfull production....

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