The Matchmaker

The Barn, Southwick, until today

WHEN Thornton Wilder wrote this play back in the 50s, little did he dream that later on it would achieve great success when Jerry Herman used it for Hello Dolly! which became one of Broadway’s longest-running musicals.

The play is a farce in the old-fashioned sense, using such conventions as characters hidden under tables and in closets, men disguised as women together with a plot to bring young lovers together, and having a happy ending whereby three couples are united with wedding plans.

Penny-pinching store owner Horace Vandergelder refuses his niece permission to marry the poor artist she loves, although he himself plans to remarry.

Dolly Levi, the matchmaker of the title, pretends that she is helping Vandergelder find a suitable bride, but she actually schemes to marry him herself and works to help the young lovers gain his approval.

Farce needs to be delivered with pace and slickness which were sadly missing from this production.

At times it felt very pedestrian.

The fault lay partly with Wilder’s writing which was very verbose – the asides to the audience were monologues interrupting the action with a couple of them totally unnecessary.

That said there was much to enjoy in the acting. Good performances all round.

Sam Razavi relished the role of the irascible Vandergelger, roaring his way through and riding roughshod over everyone.

The stars of the evening were Giles Newlyn-Bowmer capturing perfectly the gauche goofiness of Cornelius Hacker and Barbara Isaacs Dolly Levi.

She had the part down to a T – crafty, sly and scheming with facial expressions that were a joy to watch.

There were delightful performances from Sally Saunders, Hannah Whitty and Ollie Dean. Annette Sheridan played well the ditzy but well meaning Miss Van Huysen.

Robbie Osborne and Mia Battle-Welch Gave good account as the young lovers.

Proving that a big part is not always necessary, Sally Diver impressed with her two comic cameo roles.

An interesting evening where sadly the comedy only produced amused titters and not belly laughs.

Barrie Jerram