Laugh at the 'Learned Ladies' of UBC

A 17th century French social satire, one which seemingly holds feminism as its primary target, doesn't immediately scream 'contemporary relevance,' 'rollicking entertainment,' or 'fun Vancouver night out'... especially when said play is written entirely in rhyming verse. Theatre at UBC has taken on the challenge of presenting such difficult material to modern audiences as they stage Moliere's "The Learned Ladies" at the Frederic Wood Theater until February 16th.

The well-proven UBC theatre program's latest presentation is a comedy surrounding the follies of three women who seek education, wit, and intelligence at the sake of their family's happiness. Director Patrick Gauthier leads an almost faultless cast and crew in delivering a surprisingly relevant and entertaining performance. The play's jabs at academia give any modern audience something to relate to, and are so well handled by the troupe at UBC that one easily puts aside the comedy's slightly sexist tone.

The gutsy direction, stunning costumes and strong performances had the entire audience laughing throughout, and I implore you to order tickets now. Did I mention it makes fun of feminism? Read on for more impressions and details...

Moliere's least performed play, "The Learned Ladies" didn't receive a popular English translation until poet Richard Wilbur's in 1978. The story surrounds the arranged marriage of a royal French family's youngest daughter. Henriette wishes to marry Clitandre, a young suitor who has her sensible father's endorsement. However, her controlling "intellectual" mother Philaminte, with the support of Henriette's sister and aunt, wishes her to marry the poet/scholar Trissotin. The ladies' obsession with intelligence and wit comes at the cost of their kindness, their family's order, love, and ultimately happiness. Their quest for brainpower is shown as particularly empty as they fawn over the ridiculous wannabe-poet Trissotin, who parades around the stage spewing terrible poetry to the women's delight. He's played with veritable hilarity by a pitch-perfect UBC BFA candidate Nick Fontaine.

Just as strong are the titular ladies, portrayed with complete conviction, rhyming couplet and all, by Maura Halloran, Kate Hilderman, and Maryanne Renzetti. The three actresses had us caught between laughter and anxiety as their exaggerated academic pretension and horribly misguided approach to love are both hilarious and timelessly relatable. The cast is rounded out by equally strong performances all around, their effectiveness only heightened by the superb stage design and costuming...

A large, expensively framed painting hangs over the set's centerpiece; an oversize fireplace where the books which litter the stage are alternately thrown and daintily retrieved. It's not really a painting, however, but a screen onto which projected images shift as the characters themselves press a button at the opening and close of acts. It's surreal choices like this that make the adaptation so successful.

The costumes by Carmen Alatorre place each character in vibrantly colored (verging on neon), traditional 17th century dress with matching wigs and white face paint. They're a total success; while keeping the audience visually engaged they also draw attention to the clownish ways of these 'learned' men and ladies. One can only describe it as a hallucinatory carnival of 17th century pretension.

While it's hard to ignore the play's dated sexual attitudes, men are hardly valorized by Moliere. From the ridiculous Trissotin to the kind but weak-willed Chrysale, it's really an entire class of intellect-obsessed buffoons that Moliere is lampooning in the piece. We can all relate to the prizing of money over love, the use of intelligence for image or prestige, and the absurdity of social interaction in general. Plus... we're all at least a little skeptical of poetry.

Despite a few small lulls in the comedy, the audience was engaged throughout and the performance can be called nothing but a total success. This is one rhyming French satire you won't want to miss.

The Learned Ladies runs nightly at 7:30 until February 16th, tickets are $10-20. Visit the Theatre UBC Box Office for tickets and full details.

The Frederic Wood Theatre is located on UBC campus. A map can be found here.

photos courtesy of Theatre UBC