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by Molière, adapted by Nicolas Billon,

directed by Lee Wilson

Nicolas Billon and Lee Wilson, Toronto Fringe Festival, Factory Theatre Mainspace, Toronto

July 2-12, 2009

"Painter of Love"

Among the 150 offerings at the 2009 Toronto Fringe Festival is a rarity by Molière--“The Sicilian” of 1667.  It is a slight comedy only 40 minutes long but is presented in a fresh new translation by Nicolas Billon and is directed and performed with verve and imagination. 

In 1667 Molière already had such great works as “Tartuffe”, “Don Juan” and “The Misanthrope” behind him and such works as “The Miser”, “The Bourgeois Gentleman” and “The Imaginary Invalid” ahead.  “Le Sicilien ou l’Amour peintre” is really a variation on “School for Wives” of 1662 in which a young lover with the help of his faithful servant tries to win his beloved from the clutches of a jealous man who keeps her as a prisoner in his house.  This is one of the ancient plots of comedy and can be traced back to the works of Plautus in the 3rd century BC.  Its most famous reappearance in the 18th century is Beaumarchais’ “The Barber of Seville” of 1773.  “The Sicilian” adds to the standard plot the comedy of national  stereotypes since the jealous man of the title is Italian (though Sicily at the time was under Spanish rule)  while our young lover is French.  The best and most extended scene in the play occurs when our hero disguises himself as the painter commissioned to paint the portrait of the the Sicilian’s ward and seduces  her under the very nose of her guardian in the guise of positioning her for her portrait.  This scene must surely have influenced Beaumarchais when he has his young man disguise himself as Rosina’s music teacher who through song seduces the girl in the presence of his enemy. 

The two leads are quite starry for a Fringe show.  Trish Lindström, who plays Isadore the imprisoned beloved, was Sally Bowles in “Cabaret” at Stratford last year.  It’s a treat to see her character increasingly enjoy the physical attentions of her painter.  Brandon McGibbon, in the title role, played Carmen Ghia in “The Producers” in Toronto in 2003.  He gives a perfect portrait of comic pride and rage without ever going over the top.  These two along with Sarah Kitz as the wily servant Hali give the finest performances.  Kitz makes Hali, a role intended for a man, a sprightly figure who has her own sense of pride in wanting to best Don Pedro in a contest of wits.  As the young lover Adraste, Seann Gallagher needs clearer diction, though strangely enough, he’s more easily understandable when he puts on a French accent that when he does not. 

“The Sicilian” was originally a “comédie-ballet”, an odd hybrid invented by Molière and the composer Lully for Louis IV, a great fan of ballet.  For this production Isaac Haig has composed music with little relation to the period and sings it as if her were an Elvis impersonator.  Sarah Joy Bennett, the Second Musician, is clearly more adept at dance than at singing.  Director Lee Wilson allows for a pantomime of events involving Haig, Bennett and Kitz and at least suggests the idea of the “comédie-ballet” even if dance would have played a greater part in the original.           

Joanna Yu has created a set and costumes more elaborate than one finds at a Fringe show yet clever in their simplicity.  Obviously, there is meant to be a quick change of costume near the end between Isadore and Adraste’s sister Climène (well-played by Zoé Doyle), but either the costumes themselves or the lack of a backstage assistant make that impossible.  The chance to see what for most people will be an unknown Molière and in such an agreeable production is one that theatre fans should not miss. 

©Christopher Hoile

Note: This review is a Stage Door exclusive.

Photo: Seann Gallagher, Sarah Kitz and Brandon McGibbon. ©Toronto Fringe Festival.