REVIEW: COUNTESS JEANNE AND THE NECKLACE SCAM by Bern Hogan at Drayton Arms Theatre until 22 October 2022

 ‘plenty of current echoes in 18^th century comedy’ ★★★ ½

Scandal, celebrity, mistaken identity, a dopey royal, an adventurer on the make, and lots and lots of lovely money. Countess Jeanne and the Necklace Scam takes a real story from France shortly before the revolution as its starting point and has a ball with it, finding plenty of current echoes in 18^th century comedy.

Director/writer Bern Hogan’s first professional show has a cast list of four, creating the entire French court via quick changes and a single curtained archway in the manner of The 39 Steps.

The real story involved a lovelorn Cardinal duped into buying a necklace apparently intended for Marie Antoinette, who, though she probably knew nothing at all about the scam, got the blame because of her already established reputation for extravagance. Hogan has researched the story thoroughly and claims to be the first (of many) of its interpreters to take its comedy potential to illogical extremes in a show that, though a bit long for its weight at a chunky two hours, is intelligent, witty and performed with exuberant enthusiasm.

The Countess Jeanne (Isabel Lamers) is not really a countess but believes herself of royal blood. Unable to convince the court to restore her to the style of life she desires, she hooks up with a handsome rogue Retaux (Joshua Jewkes, with multiple other roles) to forge letters from Marie Antoinette to the corrupt Cardinal Rohan. Easy at first to winkle the odd few thousand livres from the old goat, but when the chance to purchase a million-livre diamond necklace presents itself, Jeanne grabs her opportunity with both hands.

Hogan’s gone for a realistic framing device with Jeanne largely telling her own story, interspersed with action scenes involving a cast of dozens performed by her three fellow actors, notably Elise Williams achieving the greatest variety of pacing, tone, timing and laughs as everyone from a haughty, spoilt posh Antoinette to a lookalike and very unposh prostitute. Isabel Lamers impressively does the heavy lifting of the narration throughout, but could possibly vary the tone a little. Hannah Moss completes the cast as the Cardinal and a range of largely dippy men and women.

Though long, the show rarely flags, and if one gag doesn’t land, there’s another along shortly, with pretty flawlessly directed costume (a bit more elaborate than your usual pub theatre rags) and spot-on character changes, effects and excellently chosen musical accompaniments.

It’s good to see ambition and expansiveness brought to life in a black box space. The script’s literate and witty, wearing considerable learning lightly and with plenty of contemporary echoes around the desire for fame without effort or merit. It could cut to the chase quicker (the set-up’s a bit long, the necklace plot arrives almost at the interval), but it’s playful throughout, such as the repeat of a key conversation from the self-serving angles of four separate characters. 

Encore, as they say in France. Let us eat cake.

COUNTESS JEANNE AND THE NECKLACE SCAM by Bern Hogan

Drayton Arms Theatre

11 October - 22 October 2022

Box Office: https://www.thedraytonarmstheatre.co.uk/countess-jeanne-and-the-necklace-scam /phone: 020 7835 2301

Reviewer:

David Weir’s plays include Confessional (Oran Mor, Glasgow), Better Together (Jack Studio, London). Those and others performed across Scotland, Wales and England, and in Australia, Canada, Switzerland and Belgium. Awards include Write Now Festival prize, Constance Cox award, SCDA best depiction of Scottish life, Joy Goun award, and twice Bruntwood longlisted.