Marriage

‘Marriage’ is essentially a play about an entirely ridiculous search for a wife. In Gogol’s absurdist comedy, the young, handsome, hitherto confirmed bachelor Podkolyossin has decided it’s time to get hitched. The only thing missing from his looming nuptials is a bride.

He’s enlisted the help of the nineteenth century Russian equivalent of Tinder – a matchmaker. She’s found a suitable lady but Podkolyossin is dithering. Things speed up when his friend Kotchkarev gets involved, and Podkolyossin is bundled off to the Lady Agatha’s house, along with a stream of other suitors, to present himself as hot stuff in the hopes she’ll accept a marriage proposal.

Written in 1842, Gogol’s play is a satirical jab at the values and hypocrisies of marriage. The whole plot is based on a sham: Podkolyossin doesn’t really want to get married, he just thinks he ought to. The act of finding him a wife is a sterile transaction, not a search for love and by the end each character is left no better off.

Howard Colyer’s adaptation of Gogol’s intriguing, funny and slightly unsettling play brings out the piece’s absurdities. It’s an entertaining version, with satisfyingly pared-down and peppy dialogue. But Scott Le Crass’s production tries too hard to embellish the quirks of ‘Marriage’. The long pauses, amid an otherwise staccato rhythm of action, means we end up wishing they would just get on with it. Sunny Jeon’s symbolist designs are a little clichéd, too – the set is all wonky picture frames and white space.

There’s some nice performances though. Andrew Venning as Podkolyossin is wonderfully bewildered throughout, while Dominic Cazenove as Kotchkarev is, by contrast, entertainingly schoolmasterly.

Young lovers be warned: ‘Marriage’ may not put you off the institution entirely, but it may make you think twice about tying the knot.