THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL
Jeremy played Joseph Surface in Peter Wood’s production of Sheridan’s play at the Olivier, National Theatre, which opened on 24 April 1990.
The School for Scandal is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan and first performed in 1777. By current standards, the play appears artificial in the characters’ speech, dress, and motivations. A comedy about manners is not as interesting to twentieth century audiences because manners and the rules of society are far more permissive and wide-ranging than they were in the 1700s. When School for Scandal was revived on the London stage in 1990, the director stated that another problem with staging was the lack of any one strong character to drive the play.
Perceptions regarding the nature of drama also play into contemporary perceptions of Sheridan’s work. Peter Woods, who directed the 1990 revival, stated in an interview in Sheridan Studies that “today’s audience supposes itself to be watching ART. Sheridan’s audience was looking at the funnies.” Woods believed that audiences taking themselves and historical plays too seriously are what prevents Sheridan’s comedy from being as successful today. Nevertheless, School for Scandal remains a standard for comedies of manner and is considered Sheridan’s defining work.*
*Extract taken from “School for Scandal: Introduction.” Drama for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 1998. eNotes.com. January 2006. 15 January 2010. <http://www.enotes.com/school-scandal/introduction>.
Reviews
“high points include… Jeremy Northam as a plausible Joseph Surface” -
