19/05/2022
‘Dom Juan’ The Vaults – Review
If, like me, the nearest you get to a work out in your daily grind is pretending to have a friend called Jim, then this show is for you. Why? Well, it’s a truth universally acknowledged that the mere act of observing activity creates in the observer a reaction ‘énergique et sympathique’ in direct proportion to that so observed. It’s also the first law of p**n.
Anyway, the point is, this show is a riot from our first introduction to Sganarelle (played joyously by David Furlong, pictured) as he greets the audience with s***f and bon homie, to the electrifying ending in which Dom Juan is so terribly torn from his life of vacuous excess (we can dream, eh?).
So, the story’s an old one – Molière (French, whatever) bashed it out some 400 years ago – a story of s*x and debauchery born of wealth and privilege (we can dream, eh?), of marriage, firm, determined and of indissoluble fidelity – for anything up to a month or until the next pert conquest comes along. (We can …whatevs).
But, as Sganarelle, through copious coupes de champagne, points out to his master, Dom Juan (Dimitri Jeannest), this ain’t a good way to live one’s life. Dom’s dad (Alexis Danan) pops up to say the same thing – very loudly – but for our hero, bottomless (or perhaps not) s*x drugs and rockenroll is too hard to say au revoir to. It is not until Dom happens across a nodding statue (French, whatever) that he pauses, just a little, to question his mode de vie. But hey, life must go on. And so it does. Until, abruptly, ça suffit, c’est tout.
Go along too for some good ole commedia dell’arte, masks and slapstick – and also if you’re of a growing persuasion that theatre often takes itself un peu too sérieux. This show doesn’t. Hell, sometimes these guys even perform it in French. It’s just a bit of good old fashioned fun. And a rather nice vicarious workout. Thank you, Director Anastasia Revi. If we gave out stars, we’d give it quite a few.
https://www.londonatlarge.com/dom-juan-the-vaults-review/
