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Mrs Puntila And Her Man Matti

 
Paul Fisher Cockburn Review by Paul Fisher Cockburn 2 Published: 11 Mar 2020 Royal Lyceum Theatre Show Dates: 28 Feb 2020-21 Mar 2020

Mrs Puntila and her Man Matti is that relatively rare thing for the Royal Lyceum Theatre—a star vehicle, rather than an ensemble production, that happens to have two audience favourites: Elaine C Smith (the titular Mrs Puntila), whose position as a Scottish national treasure and broad pantomime favourite has more to do with TV’s Rab C Nesbitt than her undoubted talents as a serious stage actor; and Lyceum audience’s own favourite Steven McNicoll (Matti).

Smith and McNicoll’s differing approaches are symptomatic of a production with no firm idea of what this Scottish retelling is supposedly “about”.

It’s a pairing, however, which not only doesn’t work, but fails to gel in remarkably uninteresting ways. McNicoll’s appreciated because of his expertise in marrying theatrical contrivance with layered humanity, so he’s ideal casting as much-put-upon chauffeur, and “voice of the common man”, Matti. Unfortunately, his performance can’t help but illuminate the limitations of Smith’s harsh, show-boating approach to wealthy landowner Mrs Puntila, which feels more suited to a few minutes on the variety stage of the nearby King’s Theatre than this Brechtian revamp of the Lyceum—except that it lacks the subtlety you’d expect even there.

Smith opts to give us the flat boredom of a drunk who is just as grating when she’s supposedly sober; worse, given that she’s arguably best known for her work in comedy, Smith fails to “land” many of the play’s major comedic moments. As an example, her drunken outrage at the social injustices arising from a zero-contract, minimum-wage gig-economy really should come across as funny, given her position as a major employer, or at least deeply ironic. Sadly, the result is a lifeless “Isn’t this terrible?” feeling leaving you untouched, emotionally and (given this is Brecht) intellectually.

Smith and McNicoll’s differing approaches (unfortunately mirrored in the rest of the cast) are symptomatic of a production with no firm idea of what this Scottish retelling is supposedly “about”— with director Murat Daltaban forced to resort to a scatter-gun approach of theatrical business to enliven Denise Mina’s meandering script: which, all too late, suggests Mrs Puntila as a perfect symbol of Scotland’s skewered land ownership. An insight, of course, given to McNicoll’s Matti.

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The Blurb:

Bertolt Brecht’s classic master and servant comedy is given a gender-switch in this new adaptation by award-winning novelist and playwright Denise Mina. When Argyll landowner Mrs Puntila (beloved Scottish actor Elaine C Smith) is drunk, she's a generous and kind-hearted boss who convinces everyone they can have a bright future under her wing. When she's sober, she's a cruel and greedy tyrant. Behind the scenes, her shrewd chauffeur Matti (Lyceum favourite Steven McNicol) irons out her drunken mishaps while pursing a hopeless romance with her already-spoken-for daughter Eva. Following his barn-storming production of Rhinoceros for the Edinburgh International Festival 2018, award-winning director Murat Daltaban returns to direct this entertaining class-conscious comedy.