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It is the winter of 1819.
In Bath the season is just about to start.
Sedan chairs are carrying ladies to the Pump Room.
There are carriages outside every house and lights in every window.
But this is not Bath or
Brighton or any of the other fashionable watering holes where for years
Beau Brummell held court to regency swells. The most stylish man of his
day may still be more interested in cuffs, collars and creases than
matters of life and death but now he lives in a madhouse in Calais with
his valet, determined to relive past glories. George Bryan Brummell,
known as Beau is convinced that once the Prince of Wales, now King
George IV, hears of and sees his plight he will be restored to his
former glory and position in court.
Today the Prince is coming to Calais!
How will he react to Beau’s situation?
Will he really forgive Beau?
What was the faux pas
that caused the Prince to ‘cut’ him – a
technique that Beau Brummell himself had pioneered and used to great
effect in his early days of influence? Dual Theatre Company with Ron
Hutchinson’s magnificent new play An Elegant Madness
will lead you in an intriguing and sparkling examination of these
questions. . . .
Directed by Peter
Craze, An Elegant Madness, based on Ron
Hutchinson’s Beau Brummell is a wonderful
example of modern new comedic writing, a tale of grandeur and
dissolution. It pits an established English legend, Beau Brummell,
against the common man, Austin his revolutionary manservant.
Renowned for plays such as Rat in the Skull, here
Hutchinson's writing creates a brilliant style developing a modern
language, which resonates with the grandeur of the Georgian setting of
the piece.The play is full of comedy, fast moving and at times a study
in pathos. It flows seamlessly, contrasting philosophy with humour,
laughter with madness. It challenges patronage, the English
relationship with all things foreign and above all the
nation’s obsession with celebrity and its trappings.
And here are a few scenes from our production in Cirencester 2004