THE BEGGAR'S OPERA

A CHORUS OF DISAPPROVAL

Bristol Old Vic

It's an interesting gimmick: stage John Gay's Beggar's Opera, and then get the same cast to do a concurrent production of Ayckbourn's A Chorus of Disapproval, which is about an am-dram company putting on … the Beggar's Opera. If nothing else, it keeps the set costs down, since you can use the set for the 'real' Beggar's Opera for the selected highlights included in Ayckbourn's black comedy.

Like a tired Sixties novel, Ayckbourn's comedy revolves around a man who joins an light operatic society and finds himself beset by lustful middle class women whilst becoming entangled in shenanigans involving a local real estate deal. Jules Davison plays frustrated housewife Heather as a suburban Hedda Gabler, a bundle of nerves and grimaced smiles, and Martyn Ellis revels in the part of Dafydd ap Llewellyn - a role for which any Welsh actor would probably sell his grandmother, since it features both a continuous flow of snappy one-liners and the chance to revel in audience sympathy. Yet despite their best efforts, Elwyn Johnson's production disappoints. As is so often the case with Ayckbourn, actors and director appear reluctant to play the piece straight and trust the author's skills to bring the audience to laughter. Instead, there are a few grating 'comedy' performances which would - ironically - be more suited to a church hall production of the play, and add a depressing edge to the evening by mining the cheapest of laughs.

It might have been a better idea for the two directors involved to have swapped roles. Gareth Machin, who directs Beggar's Opera, has staged some meticulously conceived twentieth century pieces in the past, and his talent would have served the Ayckbourn play well. Instead, his Beggar's Opera suffers from what is almost a surfeit of detail, and initially seems so intent on creating texture that it loses sight of the fact that this is supposed to be a musical entertainment and not merely a display of theatrical archaeology. Not until MacHeath (Marcello Walton) makes his entrance and launches into a lusty rendition of Over the Hills and Far Away does the required energy level kick in, making the second half - with fine performances from Kevin Walton as Lockit, Joanne Redman as Lucy and Nicola Sloane as an extremely louche Diana Trapes - a far more enjoyable experience than the first.

However, the idea of staging the two plays side by side ultimately offers very little added value. At best, it provides an extra layer of superficial interest as one sees how much the actor and the part must work together to make an impact. Who, for example, would have thought that Walton, who makes hardly a ripple as a frustrated wife-swapper in Chorus of Disapproval, should be the energising force who kickstarts the Beggar's Opera? But these are curiosities, and do nothing to enhance the viewing of either production. The only real benefit of the juxtaposition is that it offers those who enjoy the Beggar's Opera sampler contained in the Ayckbourn play a chance to check out the full product.

Toby O'Connor Morse

In rep until 8 June Box office (0117) 987 7877