Reviewed by: Tom Worsnop
Edited by: Hallie Vermeend
Queen’s College’s latest production, directed by Gabriel Donaldson and Avi Walsh-Davis, offers a delightfully light-hearted piece of theatre, Thornton Wilder’s 1954 play The Matchmaker. Perhaps better known in the form of its musical adaptation Hello Dolly!, the play is set in 1880s New York, and centres around an old curmudgeon, Horace Vandergelder, who is trying to stop his niece, Ermengarde, from marrying an artist, whilst also meeting with a matchmaker, Dolly Levi, to find himself a wife.
The Queen’s adaptation of The Matchmaker plays things pretty straightforward with its set design (Scarlett Alldis and Emilia Herrera). The flats that make up the background of the sets are simple yet effective at conveying each location of the show, be that the main characters’ house, a restaurant, or a hat shop, thanks to efficient additions of signage and shifts in placement of furniture. Most of the set pieces fit the 1800s timeframe nicely except, perhaps, the tables, which admittedly look like they’d been pinched from Market Hall. The lighting (Freddy McLoughlan) is mostly a wash for each scene, or a spotlight when various characters deliver asides to the audience. This sometimes made the action feel static, and could have lead to the odd awkward pause be unintentionally emphasised. The costumes (Clara Paton) fit the period well, and gave each character a unique look that suited them. A character like the niece Ermegarde is always seen in vibrant dresses, while her irritable uncle Horace wears muted colours in his shirt slacks and vest. There were certain scenes where it felt as though props were missing; – a wine bottle but no glasses, or an envelope with no letter inside, for example. Instead, actors had to opt for miming in these moments, and while this is perfectly fine in student theatre, the inconsistency of having props for some scenes but not others did cause a little confusion.
The staging was kept simple so as to let the actors do their thing, which played into the strength of this production. The energy of the cast was prevalent throughout, with Gryff Connah as wealthy old Horace Vandergelder and Meg Geljon as the matchmaker herself, Dolly Levi, acting as the glue that binds the show’s performances together. They each play their characters with the right mix of camp and genuine heart, and have solid chemistry between them. Amelie Archer (playing Irene Molloy), Poppy Bell (playing Ermengarde) and Emmaline Vagg (playing Malachi Stack) each radiated with stage presence and charisma, while Abi Hughes and Sophia Goodwin − playing Cornelis and Barnaby, a pair of Mr. Vandergelder’s staff who have a day on the town in New York City − damn near stole the show with their brilliant chemistry and joyful performances.
The production hits its peak in scenes where the show becomes almost farcical – everything is a ball of chaos and joy, and you’re never too sure whether something was accidental or deliberate and, regardless, the cast roll with it and turn it into yet another bit of fun. During this particular show, Archer accidentally slid straight into a coatrack, trying to stop someone from revealing Cornelius hidden behind it. I doubt that was deliberate, but the way the cast leaned into the chaos of the scene worked beautifully.
The only question I was left with after this production was in the choice of show itself. Wilder’s play does touch on some universal themes, yet it is still all tightly wrapped in the 68-year-old language and morals of the period within which it was written. While I do appreciate that the show begins with a statement about how dated some of the ideas are, it is curious that the directors decided to stick so closely to the sensibilities and form of the original text. Nevertheless, this is primarily a joyous, fun production, with really good performances all around.
The Matchmaker played 7th-9th September 2024 at the Union Theatre.
The Dialog is supported by Union House Theatre.
The Dialog 