Review: Alchemist

As first published in the Sun-Herald.

The Alchemist
Playhouse, Sydney Opera House
Until 18 April
Tickets $30-$60
Bookings (02) 9250 7777
Critic’s Rating 7/10


Whether their racket is fake Nigerian trust funds, the promise of eternal youth or the chance to earn a quick buck, confidence tricksters intrigue us as we watch gullible fools fall victims to their schemes.

Just switch on A Current Affair for proof. But it’s far less funny when you’re the one who gets caught.

Despite the title, Ben Jonson’s 1610 play, The Alchemist, is less about alchemy and more about the way rip-off merchants get amongst almost anyone to part with their money in exchange for tantalising hope of riches. Wall Street shows us not much has changed in 400 years.

Lovewit, master of the house (Rssel Kiefel), is taking a sojourn to the country, leaving the housekeeper, Face (Andrew Tighe), his friend Subtle, the alchemist (Patrick Dickson) and saucy seductress Dol Common (Georgina Symes) with an opportunity to use the house as a base to run their racket.

From here they set about conning every soul they can lay their hands on. First there’s Dapper, a lawyers clerk (Bryan Probets); the local tobacconist, Abel Drugger (Lucas Stibbard); Sir Epicure Mammon, a bright-eyed knight (David Whitney); the gothic-looking deacon (Richard Sydenham); and the angry young Kastril (Scott Witt), decked out in his bling and oversized skater shoes.

Each queues up in a Mark Latham like conga line of suckholes believing the fantastical and whimsical promises of Face and his gang of three. Enter Surly (Sandro Caolarelli), the one person who can see through the masquerade and who attempts to undo their plot.

The brilliance of Jonson, a contemporary of William Shakespeare, is that his comedy portrays the failings of humanity with such life-like characteristics.

The Alchemist is written in such an over-the-top and melodramatic way it makes delicious material for the actors, allowing them to dive head first into the caricatures and the wit.

Director John Bell unleashes his cast and lets them rule the stage with a strut and playfulness. It is hard not to be caught up in the childlike antics of the rascals.

The physical and lyrical gags come fast as the performers do their best to outdo each other in a display the likes of which is rarely seen in theatre today.