Review: Les Fourberies de Scapin/Scapin's Deceits

(photo credit: Marc Lemyre)

Fear and loathing in Naples 
by Shannon Christy
@schristy79

The TfT’s production of Scapin’s Deceits is a vacation from the cold realities of aristocracy and the grey skyies of Louis XIV’s France to a sunny Naples where a valet, Scapin (Nicolas Van Burek), with a noble heart intent on vengeance, aids and physically beats his masters. Welcome to a happy-go-lucky comedy by Molière.

Scapin’s Deceits is a lighthearted play with a twisted plot that tilts towards slapstick on the level of Asterix & Obelix. For instance at one point there is a hilarious scene where a valet, Silvestre (Sébastien Bertrand) disguised as a brother intent on restoring his sister’s honour, parades on the pier with exaggeratedly violent gestures and words meant to petrify his master, Argante (Robert Godin) who cowers below. The plot is to scare Argante to death and extract a large sum of money from an otherwise dolt of a man.  

An unexpected delight was the musical arrangements of Claude Naubert

This level of exaggeration however does not work with all actors at all times; when Hyacinthe (Meilie Ng) realizes that her betrothed has been pledged to another she squeals to alleviate the pain and the audience laughs the first time. But by the fifth time you begin to wonder if this is the only emotion she is capable of portraying. Whether it is Director Guy Mignault’s choice to outline the comical effect or the actors’, it could use some tweaking.

An unexpected delight was the musical arrangements of Claude Naubert who cleverly uses traditional pieces from the 17th century as well as modern standards such as ‘O sole mio’ from the late 19th century. These songs and their amusing choreography (David Danzon) provide yet another layer of comedy that relieves Anglophones, such as myself, from looking at the surtitles. 

The lighting by Simon Rossiter and the set design by Marie-Êve Cormier are not imaginative. To illustrate the passage of time the lights are briefly dimmed before being brought back to full intense white heat.  The set has a clothesline and a pile of clothes at the base of a hovel because this is what “Naples” is known for. Well it is also known for Neapolitan ice cream but this does not mean we need to have it on the stage quickly melting under the intense lights. 

However, these are quibbles that are easily overlooked as Mr. Van Burek does an excellent job of bringing out the contradictory emotions of the protagonist through an incredible array of facial expressions, voice ranges, and emotion. He is adept at drawing you into the silliness while tormenting, torturing, and saving his masters.  

This is a delightful play that illustrates the joys of Canada’s second language in the heart of Anglophone Canada.  TfT provides surtitles in English on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings. If you want to live in a world that metes out justice to those that deserve it then you have a hero in Scapin but hurry because the production only runs until the 10th of November.

Company website