Rebels flaunt their French manners

Catherine Nola and Andrew Merrie in Moliere's comedy

Theatre company Rebel Alliance, fast establishing itself as a force to be reckoned with, returns this month with its second production.

Having transformed the Herald Theatre - and parts of Aotea Square - into a Viking-inspired battlefield with The Orderly, this time the company pays homage to French comic dramatist Moliere.

A Night of French Mayhem, which in a happy accident of timing coincides with Bastille Day, features two one-act plays performed over 70 minutes.

The first is Moliere's Two Precious Maidens Ridiculed where two young provincial women reject suitors proposed by their father - only to fall for the charms of their suitors' valets, who are disguised as intellectuals. In this comedy of manners, the cast of eight are dressed in lavish period costumes and wigs to portray the larger-than-life characters.

The second play, The Rehearsal, is the world premiere for Danish playwright Anders Falstie-Jensen, one of the Rebel Alliance founders. It is an adaptation of Moliere's The Rehearsal at Versailles.

The Rehearsal, a send-up of the theatre scene, is satire in the same vein as television's The Office. It is set in present-day Auckland, where director Gilroy Cuthbert wants to make innovative and edgy theatre but because of an opinionated cast, leading actors who are always late, and the economic realities of theatre, his artistic ambitions are repeatedly stymied.

Falstie-Jensen says having classic and contemporary work on the same bill aims to attract lovers of more traditional theatre as well as those who prefer new works. It's a bold move, he acknowledges, but so is honouring a French playwright whose work is rarely performed in New Zealand.

Moliere was known as the French Shakespeare and his 17th-century company received royal patronage and later merged with two other companies to form the French National Theatre.

Apart from an interruption during the French Revolution, it has performed for nearly 350 years.

However, although we are treated to many productions of Shakespeare's work, Moliere's plays are rarely seen here. Falstie-Jensen believes the last local professional production was a 1980 Theatre Corporate show starring Michael Hurst.

Falstie-Jensen says money may be a factor. "Shakespeare might be thought more likely to attract an audience, but this work is just as good so it should be seen."

A Night of French Mayhem couldn't be more different to Rebel Alliance's first production, The Orderly, earlier this year. The solo show starring Mike Downey was based on the true story of a hospital orderly who spent his weekends playing a Roman warrior in a re-enactment group. Described by critics as "a small and surprising gem", The Orderly will be reprised as part of Auckland Museum's Viking exhibition.

The mock battle, using historical re-enactment groups, that was part of the promotion helped attract audiences to The Orderly and also a sponsor for A Night of French Mayhem.

Falstie-Jensen says that as a fledgling company, Rebel Alliance is willing to try innovative approaches to build its reputation.

* A Night of French Mayhem is at the Herald Theatre, July 5-16