Women frightened George Bernard Shaw, according to the programme notes for this witty double bill of one-act plays from Jane Nightwork Productions.
Yes, ladies scared the great man – but they also impressed him. Like a Wonderbra. Hence two short plays written almost 30 years apart that tackle the comic subtleties of how women negotiate their relationships with men.
As Erica Jong once said, “Men and women, women and men. It will never work.” Except, somehow, it usually does.
'Village Wooing' was written in 1933 and it's very difficult to see what the woman, 'Z' (Madeleine Hutchins), sees in the man, 'A' (Mark Fleischmann). A will, inevitably, go to Z eventually.
They meet on a cruise when she’s used a windfall to leave life in a village shop for a one-off chance to see the world. He’s on board to churn out travel guides, being hostile and high-handed when she plonks down next to him.
They cross paths again, this time on her home turf, to continue their dance. Hutchins gives a mature and subtle performance as the dignified, insightful and above all practical shop assistant. Fleishmann gives good grumpy as he fends her off with a series of panicky put-downs and pompous speeches about how very busy, clever and eligible he is.
He does, of course, fancy her like mad.
A is clearly an aspect of Shaw in this scenario, honestly fighting his own demons about dames, and is brought to life with the perfect mix of disdain and desperation by Fleischmann.
After the interval comes 'How He Lied to Her Husband', taking us on a very funny, beautifully-paced ride through a crunch evening for Aurora (Viss Elliot Safavi), her teenage toyboy Henry (Josh Harper) and husband Teddy (Alan Francis).
Safavi turns in a consummate performance as the crafty, clear-sighted flirt reacting rapidly to maintain her position while the dynamics of the trio twist and turn. Harper pulls off swagger and submission with equal aplomb, while Francis is scene-stealing superb from the moment he makes an entrance.
The short plays by socialist Shaw, who championed and respected women in an era that often didn't, serve to show that drama isn't about length. It's about what you do with it. It would be neat to say the women win in each story, but what actually wins is mutual respect.
Director Robert Gillespie has beautifully brought the plays to 21st-century life, without resorting to gimmicky updates and provides useful and interesting programme notes about “Shaw as a Feminist”. Which is a good read until the director shares his own views on what he deems to be the right sort of feminism.
Maybe women frighten the otherwise estimable Mr Gillespie, too.
Sharon Tracey Wright, Narky Knickers Theatre Company
'Shaw's Women' is at Tristan Bates Theatre, London, until Saturday 31 January 2015.
