The Northern Broadsides touring production of Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer has received some good press reviews with The Observer describing the production as “absurdly funny” and The Stage and What’s on Stage both awarding the production four stars.

The play, written in 1771, but performed for the first time in 1773, is set outside of London, where, in a country pub called the Three Pidgeons, we meet Tony Lumpkin, step son of Mr Hardcastle, in whose house the majority of the play is set. The resemblance of Hardcastle’s house to a country inn is remarked upon early in the play and Lumpkin uses this to deceive Young Marlow (son of Hardcastle’s old friend Sir Charles Marlow) and his travelling companion Hastings, two visitors to the house who first call into the local inn, where Lumpkin and his friends are making merry, in order to seek directions. Upon arrival at Hardcastle’s house, Young Marlow and Hastings continue to be fooled by Lumpkin’s  deception and treat their host as befits a low-born innkeeper since they imagine him to be no more than the landlord. Within this general confusion, Young Marlow is introduced to Miss Hardcastle, whom he has been sent to woo, and Miss Neville, with whom Hastings is enamoured. Young Marlow stammers in the presence of Miss Hardcastle, unable to make eye contact or string together a coherent sentence to convey either his feelings or intent. Later on in the play, after Miss Hardcastle has changed out of her fancy clothes, they meet again, when Young Marlow mistakes her for the barmaid and is able to converse with her more easily and bawdily, given that he does not believe her to be of such high birth. This second meeting, however, completely changes Miss Hardcastle’s opinion of Young Marlow from one of complete indifference to one of affection, yet she is then forced to battle against her father’s extremely low opinion of Young Marlow, who has, of course, been so ill-used by him from the outset because of Lumpkin’s trick. In a sub-plot Miss Neville, an heiress and companion to Miss Hardcastle is supposed to be wooed by Lumpkin owing to the terms of her inheritance, however, the pair are indifferent to one another. This indifference is finally shared with Mr and Mrs Hardcastle in the final act, paving the way for Hastings, who had previously attempted an elopement with Miss Neville.

As in many of this company’s productions, the scenes are linked together by some amusing musical interludes (on this occasion original compositions for piano forte, piccolo, double bass, guitar, tuba, violin and trumpet) all of which are played by members of the cast. The set, designed by Jessica Worrall, is simple but effective, making good use of candles to show the passage of time and stag heads to adorn the walls and convey the sense that the action, taking place in Mr. Hardcastle’s country house, might also be in a country inn. Such similarity is further aided by the fact that with only a slight rearrangement of furniture the setting is returned to The Three Pidgeons Inn. Good use is also made of landscapes by Thomas Gainsborough, which serve as a backdrop for the outside scenes, whilst also helping transport the audience back to the late eighteenth century.

The costumes, like the set, also designed by Jessica Worrall, are vibrant in colour and loosely based upon a range of eighteenth-century designs. In her programme notes, the costume designer explains that she was inspired by the caricatures of Thomas Rowlandson and James Gillray, and this is evident. From the outset it is clear that the costumes are meant to portray rustic imitations of London fashions. Immediately, therefore, James Gillray’s Following the Fashion (BM8568), springs to mind with its contrast of an elegant slender figure from fashionable St. James and a plumper lady from Cheapside who unsuccessfully attempts to imitate the fashion of her social superior. That said, the leopard print design used for the costumes of Mrs. Hardcastle and Tony Lumpkin are a little far-fetched and not wholly in keeping with the period of the piece.

The overly large hairstyles of Miss Neville and Miss Hardcastle also again appear to have been inspired by eighteenth-century caricature. It is possible that Worrall’s inspiration for the hair came in part from an anonymous 1777 print The Farmer’s Daughter’s return from London (BM5456), in which the farmer’s daughter returns from the capital, dressed in the fashionable style, and with a larger-than-life hairstyle, altogether too large and impractical for her surroundings. Such precarious incongruity is wonderfully replicated in the way the hairpieces of Miss Neville and Miss Hardcastle bob and wobble about on their heads during this production.

Particular highlights of the performance included the stammering performance of Oliver Gomm as Young Marlow when in conversation with Miss. Hardcastle for the first time, with a dramatic change in his demeanour when encountering her in the guise of a barmaid. The camp nature of Jon Trenchard’s portrayal of Lumpkin, combined with his outlandish costume, not only helped to keep the laughter flowing throughout, but also indicated that he was meant to be seen as a macaroni. In spite of the excellent performance, however, Trenchard’s portrayal of Lumpkin as a macaroni (if this was indeed his intention) was undermined by the fact that his hair, clothes and shoes were all in the wrong style, whilst the macaroni’s characteristic nosegay, often overemphasised in caricatures of this figure, was conspicuous by its absence.

The stand out performance, however, was given by Lauryn Redding who stole the show with her flirtatious performance as Miss Neville, adding greatly to the general humour of the piece thanks to her array of side glances, all of which expressed so much about her characters thoughts and opinions on the various situations.

The cast conveyed a good sense of the bawdy humour of the eighteenth century with their exaggerated performances, humorous musical interludes and flatulence-related humour, and the slight historical difficulties with some of the costumes did not detract from the overall entertainment of the piece. Similarly, the deviations from and additions to the Goldsmith’s original text did not hinder but rather helped to keep the audience roaring with laughter throughout and even at times added to an overall sense of carnival. An excellent take on a classic play and to be recommended to all.

The Northern Broadsides production of She Stoops to Conquer has been touring since 29th August 2014. It was staged at the Theatre Royal, Winchester, on October 14th-18th, and continues to tour (in Liverpool, York, Huddersfield and Salford) until December 13th.