Theatre Review: School for Scandal
School for Scandal
A Mermaids and On the Rocks Production
19/3/24 - 20/3/24
Directed by Charlotte Rabiei
Produced by Carrie Cheung
Written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Reviewed by Nicole Sellew
If the goal of a play is to make sense to an audience, then School For Scandal, at the Byre theatre on the 19th and 20th of March, failed. From the opening scene, the plot was unclear at best. The actors were, for some reason, mic’ed, in a venue that rarely utilizes mics, even in professional productions.
The play was written in the eighteenth century but seemed to be set in the eighties. Every character seemed as though they were performing in a different play. Some maintained clipped posh accents, others came out doing broad caricatures. If the comedy had been clearer, these choices would have worked. As it stood, they were more often just bizarre. Some of the women were in glittering dresses, wearing bright costume pieces that made no sense, even anachronistically. If the costumes were overdone, then the set was underdone. Most of the stage was empty, with the shifting around of a few props meant to signal a change of scene.
There were some standout performances, though, from the always delightful Sofia Hattiangadi, as well as Freddie Lawson and Buster Van Der Geest, whose comedic timing made for some of the play’s best scenes. There was also some fun playfulness with Amelia Stokeld’s character. The tech team used sound effects at one of her exits, in what might have been my favourite moment of the play. These playful decisions could have made for a much improved show, if the production team had leaned more heavily into comedy and silliness.
I know this is mere student theatre, but I have seen some incredible student theatre in the time that I’ve been at St Andrews. I believe that student theatre has the potential to be great art, that people should push themselves and each other in the pursuit of artistic excellence. And if they don’t want to do that, then they should at least keep it under two hours.
