BAWDY and raucous, the Alchemist is a life force of a play that takes everyone for a wild, almost physically exhausting, two-and-a-half-hour ride.
This air of wild entertainment is accelerated still further in Southend Shakespeare Company’s production of the 17th century play by Ben Jonson.
Even if you know the plot, it can be hard to keep up with the twists and turns or the identity of the characters who pour through Lovewit’s London house.
The cast are well up to SSC standards, which means terrific. The sprawling action and babbling dialogue could lurch out of control without a confident hand to guide it. First-time director Jeremy Hill provides it.
A special round of applause should also go to the team responsible for the costumes, notably the Spanish codpiece with a mind of its own!
The Alchemist is on at the Palace Theatre (Dixon Studio), Westcliff, until Saturday, December 1.
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