She Stoops To Conquer

Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin Until Jun 2 7.30pm (Sat/Sun mat 2.30pm) €15/€10 01-6770014 smockalley.com

Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer has been the inaugural production of a previous Dublin theatre – in 1871, when it was used to launch the Gaiety. Or, as Smock Alley might call that venerable institution from the perspective of a theatre first established in 1662, “that whippersnapper”.

Smock Alley has been relaunched as a theatre, and it has reached again for Goldsmith’s comedy, first performed there in 1773. So, will a new venture in an historic site remain nostalgically invested in the past, or try to divine new paths for its future?

“I love everything that’s old,” remarks the play’s wealthy Hardcastle, who plots for his daughter to marry Charles Marlow, himself stubbornly attracted to commoners (hence Kate’s strategic “stooping”). “Old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines . . . ” Though Hardcastle is kind enough to include his wife in that list, he does not include plays. Perhaps that’s because he agrees that theatre is a present-tense experience, and even classics, when staged anew, are never historical recreations.

Following Pan Pan’s “pre-launch” visit with a playfully updated version of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Smock Alley announces itself as a venue saturated with history, currently pursuing heritage projects. Like all theatres, however, it could go anywhere from here. Time is on its side.

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