A play by Georges Feydeau,
John Mortimer translation
A co-production with Sonia Friedman Productions
Richard Eyre, Director
The Old Vic
4 December 2010 - 5 March 2011
Press NIght 14 December
Press Night Video
Cast
Di Botcher
Jonathan Cake
Oliver Cotton
Lisa Dillon
Freddie Fox
Fiona Glascott
Tom Hollander
Lloyd Hutchinson
Tim McMullan
John Marquez
William Maxwell
Rebecca Night
Maggie Service
Walter van Dyk
Greg Baldock
Peter Cadden
Emma Campbell-Jones
William Findley
Kirsten Hazel Smith
A Flea in Her Ear
Reviews:
A Flea in Her Ear
Philip Fisher
The British Theatre Guide
21 December 2010
"This version of A Flea in Her Ear, translated by John Mortimer, now most famous as the creator of Horace Rumpole, first saw the light of day at this venue in 1966 when it housed the National Theatre.
It does not date at all, which is the nature of farce. Though set in 1900 when Dear Queen Victoria was still primly sitting on the British throne and with costumes to match, the shenanigans that went on behind closed doors in fin de siècle Paris could as easily happen in London today. The main reason is that the subject of this play is sex, with sex and sex as the timeless subsidiary topics...." Review Here
A Flea in Her Ear
David Benedict
Variety
16 December 2010
"…Surrendering to the insanity that is Feydeau's farce "A Flea in Her Ear" is a case of "double your pleasure, double your fun." Why? Because the "are they/aren't they having an affair" shenanigans are topped off with a whirlwind mistaken identity plot with one actor playing both upstanding Victor and lamebrain porter Poche. To say that Tom Hollander seizes that opportunity is a major understatement. His breathtaking combination of lightning physical precision and shockingly true confusion are beyond price. Richard Eyre's production sometimes mistakes speed for comedy, but farce fans won't be disappointed." Review Here
Theatre Review: A Flea In Her Ear @ The Old Vic
Zozo
The Londonist
17 December 2010
"…Tom Hollander is absolutely fantastic as both the stiff Victor Emmanuel and the porter Poche, vaguely described at one point as “a sort of alcoholic mess.” His expert physicality almost renders the split-second costume changes redundant: the wide-eyed, goofing Poche with his masochistic desire to please is so incredibly different to the prim, respectable insurance company head who keeps getting kicked up the arse by the hotel’s nutty ex-military proprietor. It’s a virtuoso performance that had us blinking and grinning in equal measures of awe and disbelief." Review Here
A Flea in Her Ear, Old Vic, London
Paul Taylor
The Independent
16 December 2010
"…It's played here in a beautifully mounting delirium of split-second synchronicities, ridiculous revolving beds, and myriad misunderstandings, the hilarity heightened by the wit of Rob Howell's decadently rampant Art Nouveau set. The confusions are compounded by the fact that Poche, the hotel's drunken porter, turns out to be the spitting image of the upright Chandebise. In a dual role that involves lightning switches of costume and identity, the virtuosic Tom Hollander is wonderfully engaging, both as the primly respectable insurance executive who is aghast at being repeatedly chased and booted in the backside by the hotel's deranged ex-regimental proprietor and as the goggle-eyed goon who can't fathom why he's being fawned over by complete strangers.
Review Here
A Flea in Her Ear—Theater Review
Ray Bennett
The Hollywood Reporter
15 December 2010
"The best way to perform farce is to be perfectly serious and in the Old Vic’s revival of the Georges Feydeau French classic "A Flea In Her Ear," Tom Hollander plays two roles with such perfect gravity that they are hilarious." Review Here
A Flea in Her Ear, Old Vic Theatre
Veronica Lee
theartsdesk.com
15 December 2010
"Most critics have their own indicator of shows they have enjoyed hugely; for my part, if I fail to take anything but the most basic notes it’s because I’m so engrossed in the story or I’m laughing too much. And so it proved last night, when I found only hastily scribbled words - great this, wonderful that - in my notebook, enough to tell me that Richard Eyre's production of Georges Feydeau's 1907 farce A Flea in Her Ear is a hoot." Review Here
A Flea in Her Ear - review
Michael Billington
The Guardian, Wednesday
15 December 2010
"…Feydeau's masterstroke is to make the hotel's drunken porter, Poche, a dead ringer for the respectable Chandebise. This not only provokes escalating misunderstandings but gives the lead actor a chance to play dual roles, one that Tom Hollander seizes with inventive avidity. His Chandebise is a prim insurance broker whose very walk implies a monumental self-importance. In contrast, his Poche is a grinning buffoon who can't believe his luck when total strangers suddenly kiss him. Review Here
A Flea in Her Ear
Michael Coveney
Whatsonstage.com
15 December 2010
"…a winning performance by Tom Hollander as Chandebise and Poche, chasing his own tail, and finding himself asleep in his own bed, that combines the blinkered stuffiness of the first character with the bovine idiocy of the second, making the amalgam brilliantly plausible."
Review Here
Tom Hollander’s French turn in A Flea In Her Ear is a farce for good
Henry Hitchings
The Evening Standard
15 December 2010
"At the heart of Richard Eyre’s nimble production of this 1907 farce by Georges Feydeau is an unerringly precise performance by Tom Hollander, which mixes manic energy with moments of goggling incredulity…" Review Here
First Night Features: A Flea in Her Ear
MA
officiallondontheatre.co.uk
15 December 2010
"…Theatregoers who still want a bit of subtlety, philosophy and a work out for the grey matter on a cold December night should probably look elsewhere, but those of us who want to clear the chill and warm ourselves up with a night of thought-free laughter need look no further."Review Here
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