REVIEW: CHATEAU FARCI at White Bear Theatre 4 – 15 March 2025

‘Farcical goings on but not in a way you’d hope’ ★

Alice owns a crumbling Chateau. Her former partner and ex-army major Jake lives there too and refuses to move out. Alice exploits Jake’s friend Monty’s affection for her to help evict Jake. Jake’s children Felicity and Roger want to lay claim to part of the estate as their inheritance, even though Jake and Alice are not married. 

Following some geopolitical debate with fellow ex-soldier Monty, Jake goes to fight in the Ukraine/Russian war, to some distinction despite his 74 years. Alice asks Monty to help get him out of Ukraine, which he does with the aid of British intelligence contacts, whom he has on speed dial. Alice tries to have Jake sectioned on his return, but he eludes capture.

Jake returns to the chateau, whereupon he promptly dies. Cue attempts to find out who murdered him, alongside revelations that Jake, who has no legal claim to the Chateau, has lost it in a crypto currency ponzi scheme. 

Farces are the hardest plays to write. There are specific techniques and a structure that underpin them, and sadly these were lacking in Chateau Farci. It was as if to compensate, writer Shirreff shunted three stories into one play, which sadly did not work. 

Much of the humour was also dated. The days when laughs were to be had by repeatedly making fun of “Jonny Foreigner” for not being able to speak English are long gone. The audience on the night I went was packed with Shirreff’s friends, who seemed to be enjoying themselves, but most of the younger audience members were stony-faced throughout. 

There is the potential for a farce here, if Sherriff wants to explore this, but much of the current play would have to be cut and it is always so difficult to “kill your darlings”.

The direction was rather old school, with the actors facing out to the audience rather than interacting with each other. The unique layout of the White Bear was not taken into proper consideration with the actors playing mostly to one side of the theatre and not the other. 

Timing is crucial in comedy. This was lacking throughout. I wasn’t sure whether this was down to Kenneth Michaels’ direction or that two of the actors kept forgetting their lines. 

Natasha Percival and Ianthe Bathurst did their best with what they had, but were hampered by the old-fashioned direction and a script that did not support their talents. And why in a play set in the 2020s, Percival’s character was dressed in a Benny Hill-like French maid’s outfit bobbing like an Edwardian servant was baffling, and certainly not funny. 

The set was a well thought out representation of fading grandeur. 

I really wanted this to be good. There are so few plays for older actors, and my overwhelming feeling coming out of the White Bear was one of sadness that this was a missed opportunity to add to the limited canon. 

Chateau Farci by David Shirreff, 4-15 March 2025, White Bear, https://www.whitebeartheatre.co.uk/whatson/chateau-farci

Performers: Ianthe Bathurst, Gregory Cox, Amanda Holt, Nirjay Mahindru, Harry Saks, Natasha Percival and Christopher Tomkins

Writer: David Shirreff

Director: Kenneth Michaels

Reviewer: Srabani Sen

Srabani is a theatre actress and playwright. As an actress she has performed at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (The Globe), the Arcola, Southwark Playhouse, The Pleasance and numerous fringe theatres, in a range of roles from Shakespeare to plays by new and emerging writers. She has written several short and full length plays. Her play Tawaif was longlisted for the ETPEP Finborough award, and her play Vijaya was shortlisted for the Sultan Padamsee Playwrights Award in Mumbai.