Review: 'A Flea in her Ear' Amicus Productions

Written by the master of the French sex farce, George Feydeau, and first staged in 1907 the story is a bit of fluff concocted around the usual stock characters with mistaken identity and cartoon-like mania. When her husband suddenly loses interest in her, Raymonde Chandebise jumps to the conclusion that he must be having an affair.  This sets in motion the madcap antics.

Farce is very hard to pull off. It requires skilled direction and the commitment of the cast to make the jokes land. It also requires the performers walk a fine line between very broad, almost slapstick comedy, and a situation grounded in reality.

This version uses a translation by David Ives that gets a mite repetitive, causing the soufflé to deflate some well before the final curtain.

Thanks to some terrific performances, and crisp direction by Jacqui Burke the play proves to be a delightful romp in the hay.  In particular it provides a perfect showcase for Stephen Flett in the dual roles of Poche, the hotel servant and Victor Chandebise, the businessmen who is unwittingly the cause of all the confusion. The world would be so much simpler if people would just own up to the truth. On the other hand think of all the terrific comedies we would miss out on.

Flett creates two distinct characters thanks to some simple but quick costume changes. Derek Dorey channels a bit of Groucho Marx as the wisecracking doctor, and Adrian Falconer makes a flustered Romain Tournel, the man who is attracted to the heroine's best friend played with fluttery finesse by Erin Jones.

As Raymonde Chandebise, the wife whose suspicions set the action in motion, Danielle Capretti creates a realistic portrait of an 19^th century wife, maintaining her dignity even when her suspenders have snapped.

The whole ensemble works in perfect harmony but special mention must be made of Jason Silzer's very funny turn as the consonant challenged Camille and Mike Hiller as the blustery proprietor of the Frisky Puss Hotel.

Rob Mather's lighting design offers the proper punctuation to each act, although the solo piano music used to introduce each segment could be replaced by something with a little more punch. Try Offenbach instead op Debussy.

The cast, for the most part, overcomes the play's long-winded wrap up, and it's easy to see why this play has remained so popular for over one hundred years.

A Flea in her Ear is at the Fairview Library Theatre, 35 Fairview Mall Drive, until February 14. For tickets call the box office at (416) 860-6176.

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