Although he was astonishingly prolific and very popular a century ago, George Bernard Shaw has now become one of those theatrical prophets neglected in his own land. The playwright’s wordy, proselytising style has gone out of fashion, action and brevity being the qualities preferred by most modern audiences.
While performances may be few and far between in the United Kingdom and Shaw’s native Ireland, he has unexpected champions in New York City. Gingold Theatrical Group was created by David Staller in 2006 entirely to champion the work of George Bernard Shaw, presenting performances of every one of his 65 plays in its early days. 17 years on, it is still going strong and the company’s latest production ,recorded on stage before a live audience in November 2022, is what they ambitiously describe as “The Romcom, That Started It All!”
That may be using rather too much artistic licence, since Shaw’s original intention in writing Candida was to present a light-hearted response to A Doll’s House. As such, some of the feminist themes explored in this 1¾-hour production make it a thoughtful choice for contemporary audiences.
To add to the immediacy for an off-Broadway audience, director / adapter Staller has relocated the drama from north-east London in 1895 to Harlem in the summer of 1929, when nobody saw the Great Crash coming.
The drama plays out on a single set living room designed by Lindsay Genevieve Fuori to look like a junk shop, in doing so replicating the busyness of so many of the characters’ jumbled minds. It features a cast of eccentric characters (frequently described as “mad” in the text), their eccentricities magnified by the actors to the point that it can sometimes resemble a screwball comedy of the era or even a modern sitcom.
This is the home of R J Foster’s socialist Parson James Mavor Morell, a typical Shavian character committed to his religious and political views but somewhat unworldly. He is married to the titular Candida, portrayed calmly in a sea of madness by Avanthika Srinivasan. The preacher’s life is turned upside down by a series of hysterical visitors. Two in particular fuel the fires of passion and drama.
First up is Candida’s father. Ryan Smith turns Mr Burgess into a sassy, wisecracking uber-capitalist interested only in his own wealth, although he does occasionally show affection for the young woman, while disrespecting her egalitarian husband.
More provocative is Eugene Marchbanks. As portrayed here, Avery Whitted’s character is a clownish oaf. This billionaire’s son dotes on and drools over the parson’s wife like an untrained puppy, even provocatively telling the priest that he is in love with her. What ensues is a battle of wits between these two men, who frequently seem to lose theirs, refereed by wise Candida, who somehow manages to end the chaos without loss of life.
In minor roles as the Rev Morrell’s secretary and curate, Amber Reauchean Williams and Peter Romano add to the confusion, the latter adding to the boiling romantic fission.
It is great to see George Bernard Shaw celebrated on stage and on screen, for which David Staller and Gingold Theatrical Group are to be heartily congratulated.
The stream is only online until 30 July, so Shaw fans need to get in quickly.