Proper English theatre at its finest

Following the sensational screening of Man and Superman in the NT Live Season, Simon Goodwin directs a stellar cast stellar cast in George Farquha.

For the National Theatre, Simon Godwin has directed Strange Interlude and Man and Superman, screened recently at Cinema Nouveau. His work elsewhere includes Richard II for Shakespeare's Globe, Two Gentlemen of Verona for the RSC, Regeneration (Royal and Derngate Theatres, Northampton/UK tour) and The Winter's Tale (Headlong/Nuffield Theatres); and for Bristol Old Vic, where he is an Associate Artist, The Little Mermaid, Krapp's Last Tape/A Kind Of Alaska, The Faith Healer and Far Away.

Farquha was an Irish dramatist noted for his contributions to late Restoration comedy, known for its sexual proclivity, particularly for his plays The Recruiting Officer(1706) and The Beaux' Stratagem (1707). He wrote The Beaux' Stratagem shortly before his death at the age of 30 in 1707 and would have been delighted to see his play broadcast live to millions of viewers worldwide.

Dissolute young men

The deliciously wicked 'beaux' are two charming, dissolute young men who have blown their fortunes in giddy London. Shamed and debt-ridden, they flee to provincial Lichfield. Their 'stratagem': to marry for money. Lodged at the local inn, posing as master and servant, they encounter a teeming variety of human obstacles: a crooked landlord, a fearsome highwayman, a fervent French Count, a maid on the make, a drunken husband, a furious butler, a natural healer and a strange, turbulent priest.

But their greatest obstacle is love. When the beaux meet their match in Dorinda (Pippa Bennett-Warner) and Mrs Sullen (Susannah Fielding), they are most at risk for, in love, they might be truly discovered.

What starts as a cynical seduction campaign by two fortune-hunters turns into a highly original celebration of the joy of marriage and the liberation of divorce.

Samuel Barnett and Geoffrey Streatfeild deliver first-rate performances as the devilish duo. Barnett's credits include the original cast of The History Boys at the NT, in the West End, Broadway, and on screen; Twelfth Night and Richard III (Shakespeare's Globe, West End and Broadway, Tony Award nomination) and on television, Twenty Twelve and Not Safe for Work. Streatfeild's was seen in Children of the Sun, Earthquakes in London, The Pains of Youth and The History Boys at the NT, My Night With Reg (Donmar Warehouse and West End), Macbeth (Sheffield Crucible Theatre) and for television, The Hollow Crown, The Thick of It and Spooks.

The magnificent production is designed by Lizzie Clachan,whose set switches neatly between a timbered inn and a galleried country house, with effective lighting by Jon Clark, movement by Jonathan Goddard, and suitable Irish-flavoured music by Michael Bruce and sound by Christopher Shutt.

The best of British

National Theatre Live enables audiences to experience the best of British theatre throughout the year, as the NT brings cameras into the auditorium to record and broadcast performances from stage to screen. Over three-and-a-half-million people have experienced a National Theatre Live broadcast via satellite, both live and time-delayed, in more than 2000 venues in over 40 different countries around the world, including South Africa.

National Theatre Live events are distributed outside the UK through New York-based BY Experience, the pioneer of global live 'alternative content' digital cinema events.

Forthcoming productions from NT Live, to be screened at Cinema Nouveau, include Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role of Shakespeare's Hamlet, to be screened from 7 November, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre (from 23 January, 2016) and Shakespeare's As You Like It (from 19 March, 2016).

The Beaux' Stratagem releases on South African screens from Saturday, 3 October for eight shows only: 3, 7, 8, 10, 14 and 15 October at 7.30pm and on 4 and 11 October at 2.30pm - only at Cinema Nouveau theatres in Joburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town. The running time of this production is 2 hours and 30 minutes, including an interval.

For booking information download the Ster-Kinekor App on any Nokia, Samsung Android, iPhone or Blackberry smart phone for updates, news and to make a booking. Go to www.cinemanouveau.co.za or sterkinekor.mobi. Follow on Twitter @nouveaubuzz and on Facebook at Cinema Nouveau. For queries, contact Ticketline on 0861 Movies (668 437).