The Beau Defeated
Mary Pix
From The Bardathon by Dr. Peter Kirwan
Across an often furiously funny cut, the heart of director Fallon Smyl’s production was in its depiction of people finding happiness through getting out of their own way, rejecting the artificial signifiers of the identities expected by this society, and finding acceptance in who they truly were.
Cast:
Adam Hobbs - Betty/Governess/Belvoir
Jean Roche - Mrs. Rich/Mrs. Fidget/Chris
Genevieve Henderson - Lucinda/Jack
Morgan Ford - Lady Landsworth/Lady La Basset/Elder Clerimont
Jacob Laitinen - Sir John/Mrs. Clerimont
Shawn Passero - Mr. Rich/Younger Clerimont
Director’s Note
When I first read The Beau Defeated or the Lucky Younger Brother, the first thought that I had about how to create this world was immediately; the Regency period. Many of us today know and love the worlds of Jane Austen and especially, Netflix’s Bridgerton. The more recent Queen Charlotte spin-off of Bridgerton served as great inspiration for The Beau Defeated as it showcased how creating a world where diversity exists and is real throughout is possible (and believable) in a historical setting. While my concept is not the same as Shonda Rhimes’ with visible diversity in POC characters, it is inspired by her with representation of women and LGBTQ+ characters in this time period, people within our cohort of Meadowlark Shakespeare Players that have felt overlooked in the past, myself included. The cast has been incredibly game to explore this alternate world of historical fiction, and the writing, while odd in so many ways, has lent itself to being tweaked and explored through action and exploration that we likely would not have been able to in a verse play.
The Beau Defeated is a fascinating exploration into the world of womanhood through the eyes of a woman during the Restoration period. Mary Pix takes the time to truly evaluate multiple women’s journey through what it means to find love, deal with the difficulties of status that comes with female agency in a time where modern audiences often assume women don’t have any, and discover love. Stories about women are often glossed over on the early modern stage, so getting the chance to really dive deep during our rehearsal process into what made these women tick is something that I was (and am still) incredibly interested in. The deep dives that we got the chance to work during our rehearsal process were focused mostly upon the stories of Mrs. Rich, Lady Landsworth, and Lucinda for female agency, although all of the female characters within the show are so interesting and I hope that you also fall in love with them as much as I have through the process.
The choice to re-gender the character of Elder Clerimont, with Mrs. Rich falling in love with a woman was an easy one. As a pansexual director, why could Mrs. Rich not be bisexual or pansexual herself, having been married to a man previously, but falling in love with a woman now? Showcasing queer love, heterosexual love, and finding self-love through Mrs. Rich, Lady Landsworth, and Lucinda all seemed like equally significant stories of what it means to be a modern woman and how love is ever evolving. The delicious touch that Mary Pix adds to this world is that everyone is in love with everyone else: with the discovery of Mrs. Clerimont and Belvoir finding love together near the end of the show, even though Belvoir has maybe always been in love with the Younger Clerimont, the discovery of Mr. Rich’s awkward love for Lucinda and inability to show it, Lucinda’s deep love for her governess as someone to confide her hopes and dreams into, Chris’ wish to woo the beautiful Betty but the inexperience to do so, Younger Clerimont’s love for his deceased father, Elder Clerimont’s love for her dogs. The explorations we had around this world of love within the rehearsal room was definitely a challenging one, but something that I greatly enjoyed discussing with the cast throughout the process and finding those moments of joy.
The largest discovery through our rehearsal process that has shifted my vision, and I will have to say I am so glad that it did, was the addition of Delsarte gestural work. While I have been a fan of Delsarte for a few years as a long-time Moliere stan, the introduction of Delsarte’s gestural work by Doreen Bechtol helped flesh out how characters moved and interacted with each other in a way that I as a director had never thought about before, especially coming from a more naturalistic background. This deep dive into the world of the extreme, and sometimes absurd, with gestures has been joyous to experience a different side of actors in the rehearsal process, along with explore a different part of the text than I likely would have seen before. You’ll see all of the actors’ base gestures for their characters within our introductory movement piece at the top of the show and also a large variety within Younger Clerimont’s and Lady Landsworth’s interactions together. Please sit back, enjoy your drink and snacks, and join us for this jolly jaunt through Regency parlours and parks!
Dramaturg Note
The Beau Defeated encapsulates Pix’s Restoration world of social hierarchy and experimentation in a narrative wrapped up in love, desire, and social status that was prominent during a time of social rediscovery and re-establishment. Following Puritan influence within Parliament and the ascension of Charles II, the Restoration was not only a period of significant political radicalization, but one of significant social radicalization as English society navigated how to behave and present themselves. This is reflected in the arts, specifically through the Comedy of Manners genre that flourished during the period. Influenced by the Comedy of Humor genre that rose in popularity during the Renaissance, the Comedy of Manners explores the deep, innate curiosities of trying new ways of living that contradict the innate workings and hierarchies of society that were still firmly established.
While dramaturgically working through this background context and what it meant to be a “person of Quality” at the time, it became more and more prevalent that this production of The Beau Defeated is an adaptation of Pix’s work. While this production leans heavily into gesture, manners and physicality that reflects the Restoration period, there’s also an aspect of modernity through the framework of Bridgerton. From music to costumes and signifiers the actors use to transition between characters, the decision to approach Pix’s play through the world of Bridgerton adds a level of beneficial conflict that can be traced throughout the production process. Traditional Restoration narrative tropes meet contemporary understandings of and designs from the Regency. Actors take a path of most resistance as they move across the stage or perform greetings to each other while simultaneously treading a path of least resistance during quick, on-stage costume or scene shifts that define the small scale genre as a whole.
Themes that are found within the Restoration Period also speak to the Bridgerton framework, specifically love. While there is a focus of an initial romantic spark between the two couples, there is also an emphasis of familial love through the Clerimont family and Mr. Rich, Lucinda, and Mrs. Rich, or even friendly love between Jack and Younger Clerimont and Betty and Lady Landsworth, that is often overlooked yet a foundational touchstone in Bridgerton. These discoveries allowed the cast to explore, adapt, and create new perspectives by breathing new life into these characters and story. Through the combination of the Restoration play with a Bridgerton framework, this production adapts and expands The Beau Defeated beyond the Restoration Period through these that will whisk the audience away into a world where everyone finds their own happily ever after in their own way.
- Allison Lyne
Photos by Miscellaneous Media Photography