Review: WILD HONEY, Hampstead Theatre

Wild Honey is Michael Frayn's very funny version of the early Chekhov play alternatively known as The Play without a Name or Platonov. Under the latter name it made a recent appearance at the National as part of the Young Chekhov Season.

As one might expect from the playwright who gave the world Noises Off, this pacy interpretation brings out all the humour of the original and then goes further. Indeed, during an unforgettable scene set one drunken night, it turns into gloriously funny, if somewhat implausible, farce.

The evening opens in relatively sedate manner as one of those classic Chekhovian parties comes together in the house of the financially strapped Anna Petrovna, played with great depth and colour by Justine Mitchell.

At one level, the general's widow is pursued by a couple of older men who should know better, a dotty Colonel and an equally batty neighbour, respectively played by Howard Ward and Simon Chandler. A more sinister pairing on the periphery are Bruce Alexander's Gerasim, a former serf on the up and Osip, played by Matthew Flynn, who is fast heading the opposite direction.

However, like literally every other female character, Anna Petrovna is in thrall to a disappointed man, Platonov. The excellent Geoffrey Streatfeild's character is a glorious mixture of the poet that he once aspired to become and the schoolteacher that resulted.

He can be lusty with the best of them, leading to comical moments as not only the mature Anna Petrovna but her newly married daughter-in-law, Sophie Rundle as sexy Sofya, the highly stressed and deeply repressed Marya, Jo Herbert, and even his long-suffering wife Sasha, portrayed by Rebecca Humphries, go wild with passion.

The upshot of the nocturnal shenanigans is much more dramatic than the earlier comedy might originally have suggested, since the fallout that results from the devotion and lust that is directed towards the central figure can be devastating and leads to an unforgettable finale.

In his wake, Platonov leaves behind the drunken town doctor played by Gunnar Cauthery, a suitor for Sasha, Sofya's new husband Sergey, Joe Bannister, while Anna Petrovna has a similar effect on those pursuers whom she carelessly ignores.

Where Wild Honey really scores is in combining the high comedy and farce, which Michael Frayn modestly assures readers of the programme notes hails directly from the much longer original, with a considerable amount of existential angst depicted with fervour by Geoffrey Streatfeild.

In addition, as is almost inevitable with this playwright, there is also a nod towards the social and political change taking place in Russia at the turn of the 20th century as the landed gentry ran out of money, while at least some of their former servants saw the opportunity to attain power and wealth.

This revival was originally to have been directed by the late Howard Davies, who sadly did not manage to complete the project. A well-cast revival was seen past the finishing line by Jonathan Kent, but this lovely production of a classic bittersweet comedy should be viewed as a fine tribute to a wonderful director, who will be sorely missed.

Wild Honey at Hampstead until 21 January, 2017

Photo credit: Johan Persson