Christopher Hampton’s The Philanthropist is playing at Trafalgar Studios until 22 July. Tim Farr reviews the classic comedy play
There are a lot of reasons why The Philanthropist is an attractive draw for lovers of theatre and comedy alike.
This famous play by Christopher Hampton has stood the test of time, having had many different adaptations since its premiere in 1971.
The cast for this 2017 version reads like a who’s who in modern comedy.
Simon Bird from The Inbetweeners is joined by his Friday Night Dinner co-star Tom Rosenthal; rising star Charlotte Ritchie who’s first big roll was Oregon in Fresh Meat and is now part of the Call the Midwife cast; and Matt Berry whose performances in Toast of London and House of Fools are quickly making him a comedy legend.
Philip (Bird) holds a dinner party where his fiancé and student Celia (Ritchie) is cooking for six. These include his best friend (Rosenthal), a couple of other female students and the writer Branham (Berry.)
After the food, a lot of alcohol is consumed and the night takes a twist when members of the dinner party end up with more different sexual partners than they may have first thought.
The rest of the play is made up of the characters trying to deal with the mess that has been left from the activities of night before.
It’s not a play that will leave the audience gripping their sides with hilarity, but Christopher Hampton’s script and Simon Callow’s clever directing keeps the audience interested and enthralled till the end.
A good show for groups of real play lovers, even though the cast is star-studded.
